The Tale Of A Time Lady
by crimsonpuddle
Summary: Alli Tyler. Half-Gallifreyan, half-human. Meet the daughter of the Doctor and Rose as she chases the curious events of her past. Set post-DW series 2, DW/TW crossover, slight crack!fic, adventure. Ten/Rose, Jack/Ianto, Jack/OC. Spoilers for EVERYTHING.
1. Preface

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, or any of it's characters, settings, storylines, costumes, make-up, music, technological stuff, or _anything_ else on the show. I am not affiliated with the BBC and I am certainly not making any money from this.**

A/N: This is the story of my OC, Alli Tyler. She is completely fictional; this is not an actual character on the show.  
And don't go expecting a masterpiece, this is really just to keep my boredom at bay.

FANART UPDATE: Many thanks and cookies to GallifreyanGhostGirl, who has rendered some artist's impressions of Alli Tyler! Links are on my profile! (Since apparently we can't put links in 'fics anymore...?)

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**The Tale Of A Time Lady**

My name is Allindrassonatela Gallifrea Jaqueline Tyler.  
I'm half-Gallifreyan, half-human.  
I'm 16 years old, give or take a couple of months here and there, and the Year That Never Was.  
I was born in geostationary orbit around a fluxic haemon-situated nova, in the year 20.507/apple/43.

My father is the Doctor.  
He's a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous.  
He's 905 years old. Ish.  
He was born on Gallifrey... that's pretty much all I know.

My mother is Rose Tyler.  
She's a human being.  
She's really 38 years old. But she looks barely 25.  
She was born in London, Earth, in the year 1986.

My name is Allindrassonatela Tyler. I'm a Time Lady.  
In my life, I've seen more than you'll ever believe. I've witnessed things you could never imagine.  
I've loved. I've lost. I've lived.

I'm Alli. And this is my story.

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A/N: It's short, but that's basically my summary. If you're interested, review, add it to your Alert List and give me a couple of days to update. If you're not, review anyway.


	2. My Beginning

**Disclaimer: You should know this. 'Tis not mine.**

A/N: I didn't actually think anyone would read this, so I'm glad I got so many hits! And thanks to the reviewers!

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**My Beginning**

So, this is my story. Pull up a chair, turn on the kettle, and get comfortable. Because this might take a while.

Where to begin? Stupid question, you may say. But my life doesn't always happen in order. It's complicated. Very complicated. And never easy.

But I suppose there was one time, right at the start, when everything was just that little bit simpler.

I think I'll start from there.

- - - - - - -

As I said, I was born in geostationary orbit around a fluxic haemon-situated nova, in the year 20.07/echo/43.

Well, to put in simply, we were in flight. We - that is, my mother and father, and soon to be me. See, they're travellers. They travel around time and space in my father's big(ish) blue box, called the TARDIS. They met, started travelling together, fell in love, and had me.

I suppose that really, to tell you my story, I need to tell you theirs. But, truth be told, I don't know it.

I know that my mother used to live in England, on Earth, and that my grandmother is called Jackie Tyler and could slap someone for England. I know that my father doesn't have a real name and is an alien. But aside from that, I suppose I don't really know who my parents are. I guess that was part of the problem.

You see, I should probably also tell you that I'm no ordinary teenager. I don't call my parents 'Mum' and 'Dad', and I don't live in a house, and when I go home from school for the weekend, sometimes I stay away for a whole month and still get back for Monday.

So, where was I? Oh, right, I'm just being born. We're in the TARDIS, and the Doctor's panicking because - despite his name - he wasn't expecting me to come along for another month or so, but Gallifreyan pregnancies are a little complicated; and the deal is, he doesn't know how to deliver a baby, and there's not enough time to get to the hospital.

So while he's trying to explain all this to Rose, she's left to deal with me. I won't give you the full details, which my parents have honoured me with many times, but I'll just let you know that it all went okay. Well, it must have done, otherwise I wouldn't be here telling you all of this, would I?

Anyway, I was born, and after a few days - or it could have been weeks, since Time is relative is the vortex - I was named. Don't get me wrong, my parents didn't spend weeks calling me "Baby" or anything: the Doctor called me Grasonata (Gallifreyan for Graceful, or something), whilst Rose called me Alexandra (an Earth name). Eventually, Rose proposed the name Allindrassonatela, though she insisted upon shortening it to Alli. The Doctor (albeit, reluctantly) agreed, and I was finally named.

I'm going to have to check with the Doctor on what happened next, since I'm not too sure myself. I think they took me to Earth first, though I'm pretty sure the Doctor once told me they went to Barcelona (the planet) before that, to escape Jackie's dreaded slap. I could never tell whether or not he was joking.

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A/N: What do you think? Only one way to find out! REVIEW!


	3. Jackie Tyler, Killer Gran

**Disclaimer: This is merely for my own enjoyment, and my few readers also. It is nothing to do with the actual Doctor Who show.**

A/N: I know that (by my standards) these chapter are unbearably short, but that's how I'm finding it easiest to write these. If you have a massive problem with their length, let me know, and I'll do something about it. Otherwise, they'll probably stay this length.

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**Jackie Tyler, Killer Gran**

I talked to the Doctor, and he said we did go to Earth first. So here we were, landing on the Powell Estate, London, England. I don't remember much about the event, since I was barely months old at the time, but the Doctor's told me about it enough times for me to know the basic idea.

How I heard it, the Doctor and Rose edged out of the TARDIS with me in Rose's arms, the couple terrified for Jackie's reactions. Apparently she wasn't a big fan of the Doctor's, and they'd been tactfully avoiding her since Rose had gotten pregnant. That makes it sound like I was an accident. Well, maybe I was. But that doesn't bother me. Much.

Anyway, they came out of the TARDIS, afraid for their lives, and Rose dragged the Doctor up to Jackie's flat - by this time, Rose had started referring to the TARDIS as her real home. How the Doctor described it, she opened the door, clad in pink dressing-gown and slippers, took one look at me, and swore. She also apparently let Rose in and shut the door in the Doctor's face. Rose then let the Doctor in, and he got a slap. It's no wonder they don't get on.

So, after a few "hours" of clearing things up - and by hours, I mean days - Jackie Tyler came to terms with the fact that she was a grandmother. Then slapped the Doctor again, just for good measure.

- - - - - - -

I suppose that's really it for things being simple. Wait, that's not simple.  
Well, you get the idea. That's pretty much the most normal my life's ever been.

Aside from that, my life's one big rollercoaster. But I guess you'll find that out for yourselves, won't you?

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A/N: Review please! And let me know what you think on the chapter lengths.


	4. Growing Up

**Disclaimer: Once again, it's not mine.**

A/N: This chapter's longer. Although I think that's good, I fear that I may be lapsing into old habits. Soon, you may be reading 5000 word chapters. :P  
Sorry about the wait, I was away all weekend and really busy all last week.

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**Growing Up**

Growing up, I had two lives. In a way, I had three, but that's another story. As I said, my life's never been simple.

The Doctor was all for home-education. In other words, he wanted someone he could teach to fly the TARDIS, and pass on his wisdom and Time-Lord-ness on to. But Rose was having none of it. She wanted me to have a normal, human life, and go to school like she did. Apparently there was a big argument (which gran naturally got involved in) over it. And with Jackie Tyler on her side, how could Rose not win?

But in the end, they compromised. Until I turned five, things turned domestic. The TARDIS didn't do much flying, and the Doctor was forced to stay put and be responsible. We generally stayed in the relative Earth time, which I heard was because Jackie refused to let her granddaughter grow up without a granny, and because the Doctor refused to get slapped again.

After I turned five, in the year 2011, I was to attend a public human school on weekdays, staying with Jackie at night, to provide me with an 'ordinary' life. Then, every friday at 4 o'clock, the TARDIS would materialise in the Powell Estate, and I'd be whisked away to some far away, distant planet, and live my exciting, adventurous, 'Time Lady' side of life. The Doctor and Rose would drop me back off at Jackie's on monday morning, and I'd have another five days of school while the Doctor and Rose spent Goodness-knows-how-long travelling alone. Sometimes, they'd come for me on a friday and it had been just minutes since they'd last seen me, sometimes they'd return barely remembering our last trip.

By the time I was five, I should add, something else strange had happened. I say "something else", because so many strange things have happened that this isn't particularly a major one. But nevertheless, something else strange was discovered.  
You see, I've heard many stories about the Doctor and Rose's travels before I was born. I've heard of Daleks, Slitheen, the Jagrafess, a man called Captain Jack Harkness, more Daleks, Werewolves, Krillitanes, Cybermen, evil telelvisions, and the last adventure they had before I was born - aliens at the 2012 Olympics (well, it would only happen in London, wouldn't it?). Only - and this story had always been waved away as "unimportant" - something happened with that second lot of Daleks. Something very important that my parents always kind of skipped over. But it involved Rose, I knew that much.

And when I was about three years old, Jackie asked the Doctor about Rose's appearance. Why she looked so young. The thing is, living in the TARDIS, you don't really see many humans. So when four years had passed, and Rose still looked as young as she had done at the time of the mysterious Dalek incident, the Doctor only decided something was wrong when his mother-in-law pointed out how young her daughter looked.

I was put in the care of Jackie for a week or so, while the Doctor ran some tests on Rose. And it turns out that this "unimportant" story was really the most important story of all. And then the truth came out. What really happened on the Game Station. How Rose had absorbed the heart of the TARDIS and become the Bad Wolf. How she had defeated the Daleks and saved the world. How the Doctor had, in turn, saved her, and regenerated.

Then he had explained something else. He told us that Rose was no ordinary human. He told Rose, Jackie, and the three year old me, that ever since Rose had looked into the heart of the Time Vortex, she had become fused with the TARDIS. And, in turn, that the TARDIS was fused with the Doctor. He explained that because the TARDIS knew how he felt for Rose (and I distinctly remember Jackie saying he "blushed" furiously as this point), and that he could never grow old with her, the TARDIS had given her the ability of immortality.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean Rose can never die, but while she lives inside the TARDIS walls, Rose Tyler will not age. Well, that's how it _should_ have worked, but really, she just ages very slowly. That's why, over four years, she appeared to have aged less than two. And that's why currently, over her 38 years of life, my mother doesn't look a day over 25.

But as I was saying, I had two lives as a child. I had the life of a human child, and the life of a Time Lady. And it worked. For sixteen years of my life, I had both sides of life. I made friends and enemies, I got teenage crushes, I had sleepovers and talked about boys and make-up all night long; I had the whole experience. And in the same years, I met aliens, saved worlds, alomst died (many times), and, as a late sister of mine once discovered, did an awful lot of running.

So I got my SATs, got my GCSEs, and I was just moving onto college, when things got weird.

Well, I suppose I should say weirder.

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A/N: Phew, that was hard. Seriously, there's so much you have to take into account when writing Time Travel. And I'm not even up to the complicated bit yet.


	5. Where It Starts

**Disclaimer: Guess what?! I don't own it!! Amazing, huh?**

A/N: Have a chapter. You can pay by means of reviews. Thanks!

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**Where It Starts**

For anyone who doesn't know the whole story (which, I'm assuming, is all of you), this entry title may sound bizarre. And it is, really. My life didn't begin when I was sixteen. Of course it didn't. But like I said, this is when things got complicated. This is when I discovered who I really was, and what my life could be.

This is where it gets interesting.

- - - - - - -

I had just returned from my "weekend" away from Earth, and the TARDIS had just dematerialised in front of me. As the last of my excitement wore off, I trudged up to Jackie's flat on the estate, everything seeming mundane and dull to me after the beauty and horror I had left just hours ago. Pulling out my key, I noticed a few strange things - for one, there was no Dora to welcome me home (a kindly old lady who lives firmly in the belief that I visit my parents in London every weekend), but instead a strange man, eyeing me nervously through Dora's window.

Thinking little of this, I continued up the balcony and up to Jackie's flat, then let myself in to the warm smell of freshly baked cookies. Frowning slightly with amusement at this, I hurried into the kitchen and tossed my keys on the table after I had shrugged off my jacket and dumped my bag in the hall.

"Jackie?" I called - as she had always hated to be called "granny" - and almost laughing at the tray of biscuits on the side, I looked around the kitchen and living room for Jackie.

"Who's there?" came a shrill cry from the bedroom. Worried, I backed up to Jackie's room.

"Jackie?" I pushed open the door feverently. "It's me. What's wrong?"

Jackie shrieked and put something down into my old cot protectively - I didn't even know she still had the old thing. Picking up her straighteners threateningly, she edged forwards, brandishing the hot metal at me with wide, worried eyes. "How'd you get in? Who are you?"

Now my own eyes widened with alarm. "W-What?" I stuttered, my hands raised slightly to protect me from any oncoming burning objects. "Jackie, it's me! It's Alli! Remember me? God, it's only been two days; I'm not _that_ easy to forget, am I?" I laughed uneasily, backing away from the straighteners that my grandmother was... _still_ threatening me with. "Jackie?" I asked, as the woman had now stopped still, her face slowly paling.

"What did you say?" she asked me, atounded.

"I said, "I'm not _that_ easy to forget, am I?"" I replied, slowly and cheekily.

"What's your name?" she asked, taking no notice of my sarcasm.

"Alli." I told her, frowning. "As in... your granddaughter?" I tried. The straighteners fells to the floor with a thump. "What's with the biscuits, anyway? You haven't made 'em for me since I was a -"

The baby started crying.

My eyes practically jumped from their sockets. Jackie turned and picked up the baby in the cot, but I stood stock still, staring at the place in which my gran was now cradling the child. I backed away again, though this time not for fear of being burnt, and my mouth fell.

The pink and yellow night clothes, the familiar daft cuddly monkey in the baby's arms, the cookies in the kitchen... everything suddenly hit me. Then Jackie spoke.

"But... this is Alli."

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A/N: I'm still thinking of what to do next, so the next update might be slightly longer, but trust me, I'll make it up to you. Even more so if you review. :D  
If it makes little sense, let me know, as I've changed the story somewhat from my initial plot. It's going the same way, I just had to change some details to make it work out.


	6. Babies And Battles

**Disclaimer: They wouldn't let me steal it.**

A/N: Hi! Yeah, so have an update. Basically. It's... longish.

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**Babies and Battles**

She almost pushed me into the living room and sat me down on the sofa, all the time cradling the calmed... me, in her arms. She was panicking, I could tell, and I could either go with the Rose part of me, and try to talk me way through it, or go with the Doctor's influence, and wait for her to sort it out on her own. I chose the latter.

"Bu- But how?" she stammered once more, pacing the room and rocking the baby-me back and forth.

Taking a deep breath, I began to explain. "Listen, you know better than most that Time isn't... well, isn't simple. From what I can guess, the Doctor got the date wrong when he dropped me off. What's the date?"

"That flippin' -"

"What's the date, Jackie?" I interrupted warily. She glared. Oops.

"Monday. 26th of March. 2007. 21st Century." she stated sarcastically, and I nodded, taking in the information. "You look so much like her." she added in a whisper.

"Right, so he got the right date, but not the year." I told her, ignoring her last statement. I looked up suddenly with alarm. "The baby." I muttered.

"Yeah, what about it?" she asked. "Wait - when are you from?"

"I dunno, 2022, I guess." I waved the question away.

"No, but... has it happened to them yet?" Jackie asked me, in a barely audible whisper.

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

She frowned, as if trying not to give something away. "The... The battle. Do you - do they know about it yet?"

"What battle?" I asked, distracted by my thoughts. But I didn't get to find out what battle Jackie was talking about, because at that moment, I ran out of the door.

"Where're you goin'?" Jackie asked me, jogging after me with the baby still in her arms.

"I've got to get away!" I shouted back, throwing open the door. Stopping briefly, I turned to her. "It's a paradox." I told her quickly. "It's happened to Rose before - me and me being in the same place, at the same time, is a paradox."

She frowned at me and I sighed. "End of the World!" I cried, legging it down the balcony.

"But where will you go?" she called after me, and a stopped to shrug.

"I dunno, just away! I've got to find the right Doctor - my Doctor!" I yelled as I pelted down the stairs.

I didn't hear her call after me as I ran from the estate. Nor did I hear my baby-self crying in the background, or the whooshing sound of the TARDIS I couldn't touch, materializing in the distance.

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A/N: Review please!


	7. Away, But Where?

**Disclaimer: I don't own it! Shocker!**

A/N: This chapter and the next few have slight bits of the Sarah Jane Adventures in, but you don't need to have watched it to know what I'm on about. Basically, Sarah Jane investigates alien stuff with her living computer, Mr Smith, and three pretty bratty kids, Luke (who's like her son), Maria, and Clyde.

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**Away, But Where?**

I wandered the streets for a few hours, brought some chips for lunch with my remaining pocket money, and sat under a bus shelter out of the rain, to think. Staring blankly at a poster on the bus shelter with the words 'VOTE SAXON' plastered across it (something stirred in my memory; I think he was elected for Prime Minister around this time) I buried my head in my hands and forced myself to think.

After half an hour, all I had thought of was: first, that Mr Saxon was definitely going to win the elections, and second, that no one around here had the faintest idea who I was, aside from Jackie - but she hardly counted, since the 'me' that she knew couldn't even walk.

Then it occurred to me. I actually hit my head in a vain attempt to knock out my stupidity. It was 2007, and I needed to get back to 2022. I needed to find the Doctor. Not even a Doctor from my timeline - any Doctor would do. I couldn't wait with Jackie, since the baby-me was living on the Powell Estate already, and waiting for the Doctor and Rose there could be a disaster. So, who was the last person, living here on Earth, who had seen the Doctor?

Well, as I said, I heard loads about the Doctor and Rose's adventures before I was born. And two people came to mind when I asked myself that question. Two Smiths. Mickey, and Sarah Jane.

I remembered from various stories that Mickey was living in a Parallel Universe, so he was out of the question, but Sarah Jane had been a good friend to Rose for many years - well, not yet - and I'd met her a number of times in my past - or the future, depending on your point of view. Whether she could help me find the Doctor or not, I didn't care; I just needed to find someone who had the slightest idea what was going on. After some calculations, I worked out that the other me would have met Sarah Jane once, at a mere one month old, and she wouldn't meet her again for at least another two years, so I decided that going to her for help definitely wouldn't cause any major paradoxes.

So, off I set, with Sarah Jane's address firmly in my head. 13 Bannerman Road. Easy Peasy.

Well, not quite. But easy enough.

Easy for a Time Lady. Yes. Off I go. Ish.

- - - - - - -

A few hours and many bus journeys later (as it happens, I might be a Lady of Time, but I have _no_sense of direction), with a very faint confidence for what was going to happen next, I reached Sarah Jane's road. Breathing a sigh of achievement and relief, I looked around myself at the familiar road, not having visited Sarah Jane for at least a year (my future self, that is). Finding Sarah Jane's house, I smiled broadly and walked towards it, only to be called back.

"'Scuse me?" a girl asked from across the road. "Can I help you?" I turned swiftly and my eyes opened in wonder. As I tried to place this young girl, I noticed the way she was staring questioningly at me, and figured she must know about Sarah Jane, or she wouldn't bother asking.

"Uh, d'you know Sarah Jane?" I asked, faking a casual stance.

The teenager, probably a few years younger than me, seemed to pause. "Yeah." she replied uneasily. "Why?"

"She's an old friend." I waved away the question absently. "She still lives here, right? With Mr. Smith?" I added pointedly, to show her that I knew about Sarah Jane's life.

She crossed the road to me with a smile. "Sorry, what's your name?" she asked kindly.

"Al-" I began, then froze. I wasn't supposed to be here. This girl would probably meet me sometime soon when I was brought to meet Sarah Jane. Maybe I should keep a low profile? "-exandra." I finished, opting to use my mother's original name for myself. "Call me Alex."

"I'm Maria." she smiled. "Sarah Jane's out at the moment - you know, doing her "journalism", but you can wait at my place, if you like."

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A/N: Review!!


	8. Sarah Jane Smith

**Disclaimer: I don't care, because I still get to play with them! Yay!**

A/N: This chapter isn't too amazing, but I'm getting to the good bit, don't worry.

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**Sarah Jane Smith**

In the hours to come, Maria and I waited happily for Sarah Jane's return. We watched television, played computer games; she did everything in her power to keep me entertained. If you ask me, she seemed a bit intimidated by me, this strange sixteen year old asking after a woman devoted to the stars.

When the afternoon turned swiftly to evening, and Maria's father returned home, suspicious of his daughter sudden friendship with a stranger, we were blessed with the sound of Sarah Jane's car turning into her drive.

I stod first, rushing over to the window with anticipation, and Maria quickly followed. My face lit up at the sight of the woman exiting the car, and I grinned broadly as Maria led me out of the room. With a quick thank-you and goodbye to Maria's dad, we dashed out of the house and across the road in the dim light of the evening.

"Sarah Jane!" Maria called, just as the woman was about to enter her house. She backed away slightly at the sight of me, but seemed reassured by Maria's voice.

We rushed up to her as she put the key in the lock of the door, and she walked towards us edgily, smiling at Maria. "Hello Maria." she said kindly, and looked at me with interest. I would have introduced myself, if I could have stopped staring at Sarah Jane. By the time I was brought to meet Sarah Jane and was old enough to recognise her properly, I had been at least six, and that would be over five years away from now. I couldn't get over how different she was - how young she looked.

"And who's this?" Sarah Jane asked, though I wasn't sure whether it was directed at me or Maria, who now regarded me with surprise and confusion.

"But... you said you knew Sarah Jane." she told me, and I swallowed. "You know about Mr Smith." she added, and Sarah Jane sent her a warning glance.

I cleared my throat nervously. "Um, it's a long story." I told Sarah Jane. "I need your help." Sarah Jane seemed to consider.

"Exactly... how much do you know about me?" she asked.

"I know about your... journalism." I said selectfully. "And... your Doctor, and his Rose."

Seemingly satisfied by this, she nodded. "Okay then, come on. Thank-you Maria." she said simply, and motioned for me to follow her inside. If Maria was thinking to protest, she didn't, and I gave her a guilty wave as I followed Sarah Jane into the house.

- - - - - - -

Instinctively, once inside the house, I made for the stairs up to the attic, where in years to come, I would confide in Sarah Jane my travels with my parents. She smiled, though I wasn't sure why, and seemed to accept the fact that I knew what was hiding in her attic. She raised a hand to indicate we could go up, and I grinned, rushing up the stairs to one of my favourite places on Earth. I flung open the door and seated myself cross-legged on the sofa as I had done so many times in my past, stroking the soft cushions with a smile. Sarah Jane entered the room with a similar expression.

"So." she began. "You're Alli."

My eyes shot up to her face with shock. "You know who I am?" I asked, my mouth dry with horror. "But -"

"You look so much like your father." she whispered, making her way over to where I was sat. "And I know just as well as you that, even though I met you for the first time barely three months ago and you were still a baby, things don't always happened in the right order for some people. And with the Doctor as your father, well..." she left the sentence hanging, though we both knew what she meant.

"So..." I started unsurely, still surprised at her knowing who I was. "Um, I need to find the Doctor." I said simply, and awaited Sarah Jane's reaction.

She nodded, confusion brewing in her eyes. "Right." she said, sitting on the step in front of me. "Because...?"

"He lost me. Or, I lost him." I told her. "I'm sixteen. So, I'm from the year 2022. And every weekend, I travel with him and Rose, and they drop me of on Monday morning for school." Sarah Jane nodded in understanding. "Except, instead of dropping me off in 2022, they left me in 2007 instead. And I need to get home."

"Right," Sarah Jane said with a deep breath. "So, you want me to help you find the Doctor?"

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A/N: Crummy ending, but whatever. Review?


	9. A Plan?

**Disclaimer: Owning nothing is good. Say it with me. "I do not want to own Doctor Who. I will not try to steal Doctor Who." Ah, lovely.**

A/N: Guess what I have? Plot development! Yay!

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**A Plan?**

We tried everything, we really did.

Sarah Jane was great - I could tell she really wanted to help, but there was just nothing we could do! We tried getting Mr Smith to call the TARDIS here, but he just said he "couldn't interfere with the dynamic interface of a living structure". Or something.  
We tried to get K-9's advice (some random metal dog trying to seal a black hole) but he couldn't stay long enough to think of something.

Even Maria helped, along with Luke and Clyde, who I met on the second day. Luke was apparently Sarah Jane's son, though I was sure the Doctor had never mentioned her having kids - and whenever I asked about it, everyone went quiet. Strange.

I learnt a fair few things whilst living with Sarah Jane, and I found a few strange things as well. For one, I learnt that although the Doctor liked to think he was giving Rose and me so much by taking us into space, there were plenty of aliens looking for trouble on Earth. I learnt that (as much as I hated to admit it) thirteen year olds actually _could_ handle alien threats almost as well as me. I learnt that Luke did _not_ like to be beaten in science - especially not when discussing technobabble.

I found that Sarah Jane didn't like to discuss her travels with the Doctor, and that under no circumstances were you to make fun her her metal dog. I found that Maria's dad had no idea what Maria gets up to, and that she'd never tell him (as much as I tried to convince her to).

And then I found out - or rather, I didn't find out - the strangest thing of all, when Sarah Jane mentioned "the battle". My memory stirred, and I remembered what Jackie had asked me when I'd found myself in her flat all those weeks ago.

__

"Has it happened to them yet?"

she'd asked me. _"The battle. Do you - do they know about it yet?"_

She had only mentioned it in passing, but I saw everything. I saw how she turned away when she'd said it; how she'd changed the subject as if it was a forbidden topic; how when she'd turned around again her eyes were ever so slightly clouded over. So I asked her.

"What's this battle everyone's talkin' about?" I'd said, as casually as I could. She'd turned to me, startled, and shaken her head.

"It doesn't matter." she'd replied, just as casually. "You'll find out when it's time."

And that was all she'd said. I couldn't get anything else out of her.

And all of this was well and good, but I still hadn't learnt where to find my parents.

I spent six weeks living with Sarah Jane and Luke before we gave up.

It was hard to admit, but we all knew we'd never find the Doctor this way. We had to stop researching every few days when Sarah Jane needed help with some alien plot, and then we had to start over when we got back. It was pretty hopeless. And that was when Sarah Jane mentioned Torchwood.

My ears pricked up interestedly. "Wait... I've heard of them. I think. Yeah, something... something to do with a Werewolf, right?"

Sarah Jane frowned. "Well, I don't know what Torchwood you mean, but I'm talking about the organisation Torchwood, not a Werewolf."

"What's Torchwood?" Luke asked, entering the attic casually. He joined Maria on the sofa, and they were both now studying Sarah Jane carefully.

"Well... they're just a company. Just people. Like us." she said simply.

"You mean," Maria started carefully. "Like us, as in, they're human? Or like us, as in, they catch aliens?"

Sarah Jane sighed, and I walked over to join Maria and Luke on the seat as Sarah Jane turned to them. "Well, the second." she'd told us defeatedly.

"Wait, there's an official organisation that catched aliens? Apart from UNIT?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Well, it's been around for hundreds of years." she said. "At least, the old one had been." Her eyes flickered over to me when she said that.

"What d'you mean?" I asked.

"I mean... Torchwood caught aliens. It scavenged them, and took their technology, and killed them. And then there was... a battle." She continued before I could interrupt, "And that Torchwood was, I don't know, defeated, I suppose. So then this new Torchwood was set up. But this time, it's much smaller, and they're based in Cardiff."

"Cardiff?" Maria asked, frowing. "As in, Wales? There's an alien catching agency in Wales?"

I laughed. "Of course - the Rift!"

"The what?" Luke asked, clearly annoyed at my knowing something he didn't.

"There's a Rift in Space and Time running through Cardiff. We used to use it to refuel when we needed to." I explained. "I suppose... it could cause trouble. Torchwood must monitor it; make sure nothing happens to endanger you lot."

Then it hit me. "Wait... it's 2007, right?" I asked, standing up slowly. Sarah Jane nodded silently. "then... I can do it! No. Yes! No..." I frowned, turning around to think. "Wait... if this is - then that was... YES!"

Maira jumped back, and Sarah Jane looked expectantly at me as I turned back aorund to face them. "I can find them!" I cried. "I can find my parents!"

"But - how?" Sarah Jane asked, smiling.

"Like I said, we use the Rift to refuel. But we've got to be careful, we have to make sure we don't go to a time when we've already refuelled there, or it's crossing our own timeline." I ignored Maria's confused look and continued. "We have to leave a gap of at least fifty-seven hours - not sure why, the Doctor once explained it but I personally think he just liked the number - and the last time we refuelled was on the 21st of July, 2007!"

Luke was grinning happily, but Sarah Jane and Maria were clearly lost. "The next time the Doctor and Rose refuel, it should be around the 23rd to the 25th of July! So..." I paused, waiting for them to figure it out. "I just have to wait until then and go find them!" I ended ecstatically.

Sarah Jane hugged me warmly and Maria leapt up to do the same. "That's brilliant!" she cried, and we all had a group hug. Even Luke.

So there I was! Going to Cardiff!

... Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

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A/N: Review!


	10. Cardiff! Yay

**Disclaimer: "OMG, lyk did yoo HERE wat happend too Doktor Hoo?" - "Erm... no." - "Azure lyk totaly ownz it now!1!!1" - "...No I don't." - "... O.o"**

A/N: Yay! Holidays! Have a celebratory chapter.

* * *

**Cardiff! Yay...**

So, just one day later, and just less than a month since I was "lost" in this time, there I was, standing outside 13 Bannerman Road, with Sarah Jane hugging me (reluctant to let go) and Luke, Maria and Clyde wishing me luck and saying goodbye. It was hard to believe that when Sarah Jane met me next, I'd be six, maybe seven years old, and Maria, Luke and Clyde would have gone off to university...

"But _why_ do you have to go now?" Maria asked yet again. "I mean, you've got to wait until July either way!"

"But I've got to go now." I insisted. "It's just something I need to do. Don't worry about it!"

Truthfully, there were a number of reasons I didn't want to stay with Sarah Jane.

First, there was the fact that, as fun as "investigative journalism" sounds, the defending-the-Earth side of the job doesn't come around too often, and I just can't stand the boredom.

Second was Torchwood; if you know where to look (and I was pretty good with computers) you can find out anything you need to know, and this Torchwood group definitely sounded interesting. If anyone knew where the Doctor was, they were sure to, since - from what I'd worked out - "What's alien is theirs" or something. They seem to think they're experts on aliens. Ha! Wait 'til they meet me. Then again, I don't want to get dissected. Maybe I should just study them from a distance...

And third, well, it wasn't that I didn't like Luke and Maria, but I'd only really met them twice, and they were both much more grown up. Seeing them so young and... well, a bit naive and thick, to be honest, was pretty hard. Plus, I didn't want to mess with history too much.

"One thing," I began uneasily, switching my single small drawstring bag (bigger on the inside, of course) from hand to hand with nervousness and excitement. "You're going to meet me - the younger me - a few more times yet." I told Sarah Jane. "You can't tell me any of this. Ever. I can never know."

Sarah Jane nodded. "Of course." I smiled, and turned around to the taxi.

"Wait, what about us?" Maria asked, tapping my arm. "Don't we meet you again?"

I hitched my bag of possessions up onto my shoulder and turned back to see her. "Not a lot." I said carefully, and decided to leave it at that.

So we all said our goodbyes again, and I stepped nervously into the taxi, waving happily to Sarah Jane, Luke and Maria as they disappeared around the corner.

- - - - - - -

Roughly three hours later, I stepped out of the taxi, paid the driver (a very sizable fee, even through the money was from the Doctor's much more sizable stash on-board the TARDIS) then looked around at my surroundings and sighed happily. After three hours of being sat in that stuffy, boiling taxi, with a driver who - although pleasant to talk to - quite obviously needed a shower, I was relieved just to be able to breathe again.

I had asked to be driven to the Millennium centre, since that's the only thing I can remember from our numerous refueling visits. Waving distantly to the taxi driver as he drove off, I turned around several times, taking in the dazzling sights of... Cardiff.

And then I stopped. And I looked around at where I was. And I realised that, even though Sarah Jane had made me wait two whole days whilst she prepared me - and herself - for my trip, with when to start looking for them, how to handle it, where I could stay, what to do for help, and all that sort of stuff, she had failed to mention what I was supposed to do.

23rd of July, I had said. The right Doctor would be here on the 23rd of July. So all I had to do was check into the hotel Sarah Jane had booked me a room in, maybe go sightseeing, explore for a bit, find out a bit about Torchwood, then find him, right? Yeah, totally. 'Doctor, Rose, TARDIS: here I come!' In July!

...

It was April.

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A/N: Sorry about the short chapter. Review?


	11. JULY ? !

**Disclaimer: Doesn't this bore you yet?**

A/N: I have a cunning(ish) plan. It is plot related.

* * *

**JULY?!**

I suddenly found myself wondering whether leaving Sarah Jane was such a good idea after all. July?! I had to wait for them until July?!

It was almost as if it was meant to happen. Like someone wanted me there early. Or maybe Sarah Jane just wanted me out of the house? No. She wouldn't do that. Hm...

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes.

July? JULY? The 23rd of July?! It was currently the 18th of April. That gave me more than three months of Cardiff. That's about thirteen weeks! Well, to be exact, that gave me 95 days, 5 hours, 27 minutes, and counting. That was if they happened to get there at midnight on the 22nd of July. And that was all assuming he was here on time.

_'Oh, my God, I'm going to be here for the rest of my life.'_

- - - - - - -

A week of mooching around Cardiff later, and I was much, much calmer. I checked into the hotel and unpacked my things, had a look around the shops and attractions of Cardiff, called Sarah Jane to let her know I was okay, and started to have a poke around on the web for Torchwood.

Here's what I discovered (about Torchwood, I mean):

1. They're based in Cardiff. (Okay, so I already knew that, but the list is fairly short, and it needed lengthening.)

2. They're a small team. I'd say less than twenty people, probably less than ten, judging by the various conspiracy theories and such on the web.

3. ...Actually, that's it.

Okay, so it turns out I wasn't quite the hacker I thought.

Damn.

But still, something was definitely fishy in Cardiff. Well, obviously, since there's a massive rip in Time and Space running through it, but you know what I mean. I don't know; maybe it was just because I've had so much free time, but I've started to notice odd little things about the city.

For example, the guy who works in the Tourist office? One night he ordered about three pizzas, a tub of coleslaw, and a bottle of (specifically 'Diet') Coke. Yes, it really had come down to this. I was Pizza-spotting. But I'd been watching the place pretty much all day, and except for the black SUV (presumably his) that had been parked there since ten in the morning, the place was a ghost town. And that guy wouldn't eat all that food on his own, would he?

...Oh, I don't know. Maybe I had just been bored for too long. You see, after travelling with the Doctor for 16 years, you can't just switch off from it. I wanted adventure! And aliens! And for some reason, I really missed getting arrested... That was quite a mundane thing when the Doctor was around.

- - - - - - -

Okay, I had been living in Cardiff for two weeks, and I was still a whole 81 days away from the possibility of finding the Doctor and Rose.

I was bored out of my mind. We were two days into May, and... that was about the most exciting thing that had happened. I mean, no offence to any Welsh people, but when you spend your time waiting around for something, you tend to get bored. A lot.

Oh wait, I lied. That wasn't the most exciting thing that's happened. I almost got "escorted home" for "truanting". I may have used the Doctor's spare sonic screwdriver to provide a distraction. (It, erm, "accidentally" found its way into my pocket a few trips back. What? He has a bunch of spares, he wouldn't miss it!)

Oh, and Pizza-guy from the tourism office ordered more pizza. But I worked it out. He had this little gang of friends who randomly ran in and out of the tourism office (I had no idea where they came from) and into that black SUV I told you about, then do some - pretty crazy - driving and came back later. Sometimes they brought the weirdest things back. But then they disappeared round the back of the building. I figured there was a hidden door to a cellar or something round there, since I had a poke around and couldn't find anything.

You're probably wondering how I knew all of this. Well, you see, if you squint, you could just about see the tourism office from my hotel room. So, I bought some binoculars, and made a little hobby of it. Hey, I had 11 weeks there - give me a break.

Oh, and I still hadn't found out anything else about Torchwood.

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A/N: Hehe. Review?

Oh, and I'm going away for a week on Tuesday, so you definitely won't get an update until November. Unless I can beg my grandparents to let me at the computer. Not likely. :P Sorry!


	12. Stalker

**Disclaimer: Is this even necessary? I mean, no one would actually think one of us owned it, would they?**

A/N: Hey, I'm back from Spain! Yeah, we went there instead of to my grandparents, as a surprise, so I had no chance to update. England's freezing.  
Okay, so I wrote a really good chapter, and I was just about to save it, and then it said something about the server. Then I checked back and it was gone. So I just re-wrote it. So I'm very sorry if it sucks. Oh, and there's swearing.

* * *

**Stalker**

I had been 'living' in Cardiff for almost three weeks, and it seemed I had attracted some unnecessary attention. See, I had just been wandering around the city, minding my own business, trying to find out about Torchwood and spying on the Pizza-guy, and this weird guy in a military coat kept following me. I saw him first in the town centre, and he only really stuck in my mind because of the strange coat.

But then, I saw him the next day (wearing the same coat, I might add). And then the next day (still with the coat), following me again. And the day after that (what is it with the coat?). And then the next day, I saw him again, and I'd had enough.

Well, I didn't actually _do_ anything. I mean, he looked like a weirdo, but a very strong, powerful weirdo. But I told myself I would do. In good time. Maybe.

Anyway, I've been in my hotel room, trying to find out more about Torchwood via the internet. It was hard stuff; I wished I had Luke or the Doctor to help me out. But I didn't, so I had to make do. I had nothing to add to my list, but I decided Pizza-guy and his friends are up to something. I'd been watching them closely, to try to cure my boredom, but it was a bit dull.

I'd found out very little about Torchwood. Well, pretty much nothing. There were a few little conspiracy groups and fans, but they just seemed to talk about invading aliens all the time. It was pretty boring. I met a nice woman on one site called Mary. And that was about all.

- - - - - - -

And then I got in trouble. Very big trouble.

You know the stalker guy? He wasn't stalking me anymore. He kidnapped me.

I was spying on the Pizza-guy again, and I saw the stalker behind me. And you know how I was going to "do something"? Well, I didn't have to any more. Because he did. I had been wandering around outside the Millenium Centre for a while, and kept looking back at him, so he must have known that I knew he was there.

He walked up to me calmly, with his coat billowing in the wind like in those spy movies, and with sunglasses like the ones in the movies too, and I froze. Don't judge me; my thoughts at the time basically included _"Oh, my God, now what do I do?"_, _"Run, Alli, run! Why the hell aren't I running?!"_ and _"Holy crap - is that a gun?!"_ (It was.)

Here's how the conversation went:

__

Me: Who the hell are you? Why are you stalking me?

Him: Question is: Why are you stalking us? ((FYI: He's American.))

Me: I... It - W-Who the hell are you? ((Okay, now I know why the Doctor never lets me negotiate.))

Him: (Laughing and raising sunglasses.) Kid, you don't wanna know.

Me: No, I-I really do. And - And I ain't no kid. ((I can't pull that kind of talk off, can I?))

Him: Tell me what you want, and no one gets hurt.

Me: (Fake/nervous laughing) Tell me who you are, and I won't run. ((Yeah, like I could.))

Him: You wanna know who we are?

Me: (Nods.) ((At this point I couldn't really do much else.))

Him: I'm Torchwood.

I remember freezing again, and just staring at him for a while - then again, it was probably just a few seconds.

But anyway, then that big SUV drove up, and some crazy woman stepped out, yelling threateningly at me as I tried to run away, and grabbed my wrists violently. The stalker grabbed me too, and together they pushed me into the back of the car. I screamed for a bit, but it was only about thirty seconds until the car stopped again.

Then the boot was opened, and I tried to make another run for it, but the crazy lady yelled and grabbed me again and pushed me towards the tourist office. Thinking Pizza-guy might help me - and wondering why they were taking me there - my face lit up as I stumbled along the road in the hands of the crazy lady, but darkened again when the stalker picked me up and rushed into the office, throwing me over his shoulder. He yelled to the crazy lady (who was no longer yelling at me) something about it being so much easier when "they" were unconcious. He may have been talking about me.

Well, they shoved me into the tourist office, and I was getting confused. Still being mandhandled by the crazy lady, I smiled weakly to the Pizza-guy, hoping he would call the police or something, but no. What did he do? He pushed a button and the wall opens.

Well, thanks, Pizza-guy. Thanks a lot. After I trusted you, and spied on you, all these past -

Anyway. They dragged me through the building (it was a nice place actually; well suited for their alien hunting work, if they were indeed the mysterious Torchwood) and I saw _everything_. It was underground, for starters. Ooh, and they had a Pterodactyl. And I was right about how small their team was. It was just Pizza-guy, the stalker, the crazy lady, a guy who looked like a doctor, and a woman who didn't even look up from her computer as crazy lady dragged me downstairs. It was like a cult.

They put me in a cell.

It was cold. Actually, it was bloody freezing. And damp. And it really, really stank. Oh, and I was starving. Ugh, and in the cell next to me was an alien that wouldn't shut up howling.

I heard them say they'd question me tomorrow, since the doctor guy was pissed off and wanted to go home, and the computer geek had followed him. Apparently the leader (possibly the crazy lady? Or the stalker?) wanted the whole team there when they dissect me. I knew they were going to.

I needed to get out. Escape plan. But I they must have drugged me. I couldn't think straight.

I heard drips of water that couldn't be real. And that alien. Bloody next-door-neighbours.

I was going crazy.

I surely couldn't last there until morning. No way.

I saw something in the shadows. It moved. Oh, wait, it was _my_ shadow. But where was the light coming from? We were underground.

_'Who cares? I've got to spend the night here. I should just be glad for the company.'_

"Hi me."

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A/N: Poor Alli. Review for her? If you do, I might put another chapter up later...


	13. Dissection

**Disclaimer: I own only Alli. And I'm cool with that.**

A/N: What the Hell, have another chapter.

* * *

**Dissection**

I didn't sleep. I couldn't. I stayed up all night, talking to my shadow and studying the moth that had been circling the switched off light, as if waiting for it to come on. Morning came with suprise.

The door opened suddenly, and the light came on. I stood up, abandoning my shadow, and walked up to the pane of glass separating me from the stalker, who had just entered. I squinted through the dirty glass at him as he approached, his footsteps echoing through the walls of the dungeon. He reached my cage, and I stared at him intently. There was something about him. Something that made me think I'd met him before, but I couldn't place him.

"Let me out." I whispered, banishing my thoughts.

He laughed. "Okay." Phew. Wait - what?

He pressed a button on the side of my cell, and the glass slide to one side. Freedom!!

But no.

I tried to run out, but he grabbed me and pushed me out of the dungeon and up to the big main room. I didn't even bother struggling.

The moth died, by the way.

The crazy lady came up and pointed a gun at me, while the stalker (I really needed to learn these guys' names) led me into an interrogation room and pushed me into a chair. Then I _did_ struggle, but to no avail. This guy was strong.

"What's your name?" the stalker asked me once I was "settled" in the chair.

"What's yours?" I retorted, sticking my chin out to prove I wasn't afraid.

He laughed. He does that a lot. "You're in our base, you're outnumbered, and you're our prisoner. You're not in a place to negotiate." Damn.

"I can try."

He ignored me. Idiot. "Now, here's what I don't understand. You've been spying on us for weeks now; you won't leave us alone. So why, when we welcome you in, won't you talk?" he asked me. He actually has a point.

"I want _you_ to talk." I said.

"Tough. I asked first." Oh, so he's going to be like _that._

"Look, here's the deal." he continued, sitting down opposite me. "We catch aliens. I'm guessing you know that." Yep. "You're not human. We know that." WHAT?! "You want something from us, yeah?"

I nodded weakly. Yeah, I want to know who you are, how you know who I am, and where the hell my parents have gone.

"Well, we want something from you." he said calmly. I think the effect was ruined by the crazy lady's gun. Like I'd try to get away anyway.

"What do you want?" I breathed.

"We want to know what you are, where you came from, and why you're giving off Huon energy."

"Well tough, 'cause I'm - wait, I'm giving off _what_ now?"

"Huon energy. It's ancient energy, and I know only one man who would have such technology. But I'm guessing you're nothing to do with him."

Who and what the hell was this guy going on about?! "So?" I asked, wishing he would get to the point.

He turned and nodded to the crazy lady, who was standing by the door. She walked into the room and indicated for me to get up. Obviously, I didn't move.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"It's okay, we're just gonna run a few tests." she told me 'kindly', in a strong Welsh accent. I stood up and backed away, my knees barely holding my weight.

'_What the hell is wrong with me? I've only been here one night, I shouldn't be this weak!'_

"No way." I laughed uneasily. But the stalker grabbed me from behind and pushed me harshly up the stairs. Wouldn't it have been so much easier just to keep me in one place? He pushed me along, twisted my arms so I couldn't escape.

I screamed out from the pain, aware that no one would help me. Clearly I was wrong. As soon as we emerged from the interrogation room, the computer geek shrieked.

"Jack!" she cried indignantly. "What's wrong with you? She's only a child!"

"Yeah!" I agreed breathlessly. "She's only a child!"

I struggled out of the stalkers grasp, but he turned his gun on me. I immediately reached out for something I could use as a weapon, but instead grabbed the first thing I could see. I heaved it up and brandished it at him, then realised what it was.

I cried out in disgust, dropping the jar on a table. "Who the hell's hand is that?" I asked.

"Old friend's." Jack said casually, the gun still on me. I could survive a bullet, right? I was sixteen; did I have my regenerations yet? Hm... too much to chance. I raised my hands in surrender and walked forwards to him, persuaded by the doctor guy's gun to my head, pushing me forward. These people like their guns.

I was dragged to the... autopsy room? Great. Anyway, I was dragged there, and they sat me on the table, with the crazy lady's gun back to my head in case I tried to escape.

The doctor guy put on a white lab coat and reached for his equipment. My eyes widened as he reached for a scalpel, but he instead picked up a small computer-like item and scanned it over my body.

"Fluid levels: normal;" he read off the machine. "Blood: of unknown alien origin; Oxygen levels: Whoa, nice respiratory bypass system..."

"Thanks." I told him sarcastically, and the stalker, watching from the side, laughed. Yet again.

"Human proteins; human cells - though with a hint of alien substinance; human everything, except for the Huon particles in her system and the respiratory system." the doctor continued, throwing the device on the medical desk. I could have laughed; he didn't even mention that - "Oh, and she's got two hearts."

Oh. Damn.

Jack breathed in sharply, and I turned to look at him, but the crazy lady grunted and signalled for me not to move in the way of jamming the gun into my temple. She was like a cave person.

But it was okay, because the stalker guy walked over to stand in front of me. "Two hearts?" he repeated, frowning.

The doctor guy nodded. "Now, where's Teaboy?"

Who? Actually, I don't care. Jack didn't answer, he just stared at me curiously. I stared back. That feeling of familiarity crept into my mind again, itching at my memories but not scratching the surface.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"We're Torchwood." he replied instantly, but I shook my head.

"No, _you_. Who are _you_?" I insisted, and this time, he answered.

"Captain Jack Harkness." he replied distantly, looking at me as if trying to figure out a riddle. My memory practically leapt out of my head. Jack Harkness.

Captain Jack. Jack bloody Harkness. Oh my God.

"Captain Jack Harkness?" I repeated, my stomach lurching. He nodded, unusually quiet. I laughed hysterically, caring not for the crazy lady's gun. Wait, guns. She now had two.

"Jack!" I exclaimed, smiling with relief, confusion, disbelief and pure hapiness. My smile stretched into a grin, reaching from ear to ear, and he exchanged glances with the crazy lady. But I didn't care.

"I believe you know my parents."

* * *

A/N: YAY! Happy times! What do you think? Oh, and no, I do not like Gwen.


	14. The Doctor's Daughter

**Disclaimer: N-O spells no.**

A/N: Hehe, now it gets interesting.

* * *

**The Doctor's Daughter**

Jack blinked slowly. "You mean..." he said slowly, waiting for me to finish the sentence for him. I leapt off the operating table, not caring for crazy lady's guns, and she didn't bother to stop me, seeming entranced by something from Jack's past.

"Yep." I grinned happily. "Two hearts. Respiratory bypass system. Remind you of anyone?"

He laughed disbelievingly. "The Doctor? You're tellin' me that you're the _Doctor_'s daughter?!"

I nodded, ignoring the fact that he probably didn't believe me. But I knew he'd work it out. Well, I hoped.

"But - how?" he gaped. At this point, crazy lady lowered her guns. "I mean... is that even possible? Who's your mother?"

I grinned even more, enjoying this game. "It's Rose."

His eyes widened in their sockets. "You're joking..." he muttered, though clearly he understood. "They finally got together, huh?"

I nodded happily. Then his pleasantly confused expression turned to a frown. "So... what're you doing here?"

I sighed contentedly. "Wait, first things first: I heard the word 'Teaboy' back there. I've got a massive headache; any chance of a drink?"

- - - - - - -

So, half an hour later, after food ordering and private chats galore, there we were, in the meeting/conference office/room. I seriously couldn't believe my luck; I really thought I was going to get dissected. But anyway, the whole team - minus Pizza-guy - was sat around this massive wooden table, with Jack at the head and myself perched on a seat next to him.

Crazy lady still had her guns out. I think she may not have trusted me. But Jack did, so who cares? I knew there was something familiar about him: I'd seen a few photos of him, Rose and the Doctor (pre-regeneration), but I couldn't place him until he told me his name.

"Now, who are you?" the computer geek asked me, studying me curiously.

"I'm Alli." I told her, and the rest of the table. "My father's the Doctor. You've probably... heard of him. He basically runs around planets saving people and stuff with my mother, Rose." I added, pausing briefly to drink from the coffee that had been provided by Pizza-guy. That was a much cooler nickname than 'Teaboy'. Then again, it did make him sound like he delivered pizza...

The computer geek nodded slowly. "And you help them?"

"Yeah. Well, only on weekends and holidays. But they accidentally dropped me off here instead of 2022, and... that's how I ended up here. The Doctor and Rose from my Timeline should come to the Rift to refuel at around the 23rd of July, so I've just got to wait until then!" I said, smiling, and glanced at Jack. "Now, why did you kidnap me?"

"Well, " he began, leaning forwards over the table. "You were spying on Ianto -" Mental note to self: Pizza-guy/Teaboy's name is probably Ianto. "- and that pissed me off; and the Huon energy thing was a bit weird too. We wanted to make sure you weren't going to explode."

"Right." I nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that spying. I got bored. So, what's this Huon energy stuff?" I asked blankly.

"Well, the Doctor is the only man - or alien - that I know who might have it. It's ancient energy; it was banned thousands of millenniums ago, but it's somehow in your system."

"Okay, so why was it banned?" I asked, and Jack looked uneasily at the computer geek. She coughed agitatedly.

"Well... it was deadly." she told me apologetically, and I froze.

"But it's okay! Right?" Jack asked her pointedly.

"Yeah." she rectified. "Maybe. Well, I've sorted out a system to drain the active Huon energy from your system. It uses a hypothalamic espen-reducing -"

"Shut it Tosh," the doctor groaned. Second mental note: The computer geek's name is probably Tosh. "The kid doesn't want a migraine."

Not sure whether to be offended or amused, I remained silent while Tosh glared daggers at the doctor. "Anyway," she continued. "After a few weeks, you should be completely Huon-free!" she smiled at me.

"But I don't get it: how did this stuff get in me in the first place?" I asked.

"Well, I'd say there's probably Huon particles in the TARDIS. Anything that could've happened...?" Jack trailed off suggestively.

"Rose, probably." I said, but Jack frowned.

"What about her?"

"Well, you know, when she absorbed the heart of the TARDIS." I told him. Maybe she had the Huon energy in her too, and I got some of it when she was pregnant?

"She what?!" he exclaimed.

"You know, to bring you back to life and that. On the Game-station."

"That was her?" Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Erm... yeah." I said quietly, and the room grew silent.

"So, who are all of you?" I asked interestedly, changing the subject.

"Oh! Of course!" Jack said, suddenly bright. "Well, I'm Jack, I'm in charge."

"Yeah, right." someone muttered - I think it was the doctor - but Jack ignored them.

"This here is Gwen Cooper -" he pointed to crazy lady (I think my name suited her better) "- and this is Toshiko Sato -" he pointed at Tosh, who smiled and waved "- Owen Harper -" here he pointed to the doctor "- and the wonderful Ianto Jones, who made you your coffee." he finished proudly. "We're Torchwood. We're outside the government, and beyond the police. Tracking down alien life on Earth and -"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I sighed, much to his evident disappointment. "I'm exhausted; have you got anywhere decent I can rest? That cell was really uncomfortable. I'm assuming I'm still your prisoner and that."

"Not prisoner, but we'd like to make sure you're okay after this Huon particle treatment." Jack said, standing up. "You can use my office; there's a bed up there."

Jack led me out of the room and up to his office, and the rest of the team filtered away to their desks.

The door opened with a click and he held it open for me. I walked into the small office interestedly, examining the alien artifacts and items, and his numerous photos around the room. He knocked one photo so it was face down on the shelf as my eyes trailed over to it, and they rested instead on a pair of 3D-vision glasses on his desk.

"What're these for?" I asked casually as he set up the sofa bed in the corner for me. He turned to look briefly, before covering the sofa-slash-bed with new sheets and a clean pillow.

"They're... nothing. Just something from the old Torchwood." he waved away the question, and indicated to the freshly made bed. "There. Perfect."

I smiled my thanks and he walked towards the door, picking up the photo he had knocked over and stuffing it in his pocket as he exited the room.

I settled down on the bed and sighed with happiness and exhaustion. Within minutes, I was dreaming.

* * *

A/N: In the Torchwood episode 'Small Worlds', there are a pair of 3D-vision glasses on Jack's desk. From this I have deduced that they were also there a few episodes before. This is where Alli came in (according to me, anyway). Yes, they were the Doctor's. You know which episode I mean. -sniff-  
And yes, the photo is important. I shall say no more. -evil laugh-

Review?


	15. The Truth About Captain Jack

**Disclaimer: "I do not own, but still I try. What am I?" Answer: A Fangirl!!**

A/N: Hi.

* * *

**The Truth About Captain Jack**

The following day, I was awoken by a loud crash. It seems that Torchwood's pet Pterodactyl likes to wake Jack up at five o'clock in the morning, and today, I was also a victim of its morning cries. Joy.

I felt a bit out of place; the team all filtered in, Owen did some tests on me and started a course for the Huon energy, reminding me very 'nicely' that If I resisted, "they" would kill me. I _think_ he was talking about the particles...

They all kind of did their own thing, mostly stuff to do ith the Rift, and I slept for most of the day, having barely slept at all for the past few nights.

At around seven, we all sat around the large wooden table in the conference room, and ate pizza. Ianto lived up to his name of Pizza-guy.

It was nice. I joined in with the talk about the Rift, we all had a good laugh at Jack's numerous tales of mischief, and for the first time in over a month, I truly felt at home.

They talked about some weird stuff happening to some children; something about petals in mouths - I kind of tuned out at that point - and then started talking about fairies. I almost laughed. What happened to "secret organisation detecting alien life"? They were talking about fairies, for God's sake.

When the pizza had almost all vanished, Jack got up and went to the bathroom. Then the interrogation began.

Well, I say interrogation; I'm sure they weren't trying to scare me. Well, maybe the crazy lady was.

"So, what do you know about Jack?" the computer geek asked me - wait, Tosh, her name is. Tosh asked me.

The crazy lady - I still refuse to give her a name after what she did to me - snorted. "You do this to everyone?" she asked. Presumeably she'd undergone the same thing when she arrived at Torchwood. Tosh didn't answer, and she, Owen and Ianto just stared at me expectantly.

"Um..." I began uneasily, not sure what to say. "I know... he used to be a con-man."

They didn't seem to surprised by this.

"And... that... he used to travel a lot. With my parents." I continued - this got Owen's attention.

"Now, who exactly are your parents?" he asked me, and I shifted in my chair. "'Cause they're stated in the Torchwood records from the day it was created - and loads of times after that. 'Sir Doctor and Dame Rose'."

I grinned. "Yep, that's them." I said, but revealed no more, much to Owen's annoyance.

"And that's Rose Tyler - named of the list of -" here he swore loudly when someone - I assume - kicked his shin under the table. Probably crazy lady. She shot him a 'shut up' glance and turned back to me with a patronising smile.

"D'you think Jack's gay?" She suddenly asked, and I was happy for the change of subject.

I shrugged. "Who cares?"

"Not me." Ianto said - a little too quickly. Oh yeah, I'd seen the way him and Jack look at each other. I definitely had to keep an eye on that.

"I don't think he is." Tosh told me, smiling.

"Me neither." Crazy lady added.

"Come on, guys, we've had this discussion before." Owen said, bored. "And like I said last time, with the clothes he wears, and the things he says, he has _got_ to be gay."

I smiled at their ridiculous discussion, and he turned to look at me. "What?"

I shook my head, still grinning. "Nothing."

God, for all the moaning I did about this place (the crazy lady, in particular), I suddenly thought I'd actually be sad when my two weeks of Huon-particle-removal-therapy ends and I had to go back to the hotel. Unless I could get Jack to hire me. But only until July, of course. Only two months and one week left.

- - - - - - -

One week passed, and I was feeling terrible. Owen said the medication would have side-effects, in the form of vomiting, nausea and fever. Great. He mentioned nothing about headaches, and yet my mind felt as if it was about to implode.

On the plus side, Jack said that I could stay at the Hub for a few days after the medication's over, to recover. I still hadn't gotten round to asking him about a job. I didn't even know if I would. I'd only work here for two months, then the Doctor and Rose would pick me up and I'd be back amongst the stars.

There was definitely something going on between Jack and Ianto. They kept talking about stopwatches. Hmm...

A friend of Jack's passed away. Estelle, I think her name was. I think he knew her for longer than he said. I'm sure Ianto cheered him up.

- - - - - - -

I finished my last day of medication. I felt like crap. If Owen told me the next day that I had to do even one more day of it, I'd whack him. (On a side note, I was pretty sure Tosh fancied him.)

I still hadn't asked Jack about a job. I was running out of time; I only had another month and three weeks in Cardiff! But he kept looking at me weirdly, like he knew something but wasn't allowed to tell me.

_'I'm going to make my stay last as long as possible,_' I thought that night._ 'Even if I have to pretend to be sick.'_

- - - - - - -

I asked Jack for a job. It was the most terrifying thing I'd done in quite a while. He said I was too young. I was 16! That's old enough!

I asked him what he meant, and he said that "my mother wouldn't want me in danger".

"That's bollocks." I told him. "You haven't seen Rose for years. You didn't even know she had a daughter!"

"No." he told me, in that way adults do when they want to make you feel like a kid. "But I still know her. And I know that she wanted you to have a normal life. You can stay here until July, but you can't work with us. There are no vacancies." he finished, as if this solved the problem, and then walked away.

I punched the wall (yeah, maybe not the best form of anger management), and started ignoring him.

Way to show him how mature you are, Alli.

* * *

A/N: It's a bit rushed, sorry, but I was lost for sub-plots. There's a good one coming up though. All in good time.


	16. A Job? Maybe?

**Disclaimer: The only thing I get from this is a distraction from my homework. Which I am very grateful for.**

A/N: Hey, you came back. Uh, this chapter's long. Then the next one will probably be very short. Sorry about that.

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**A Job? Maybe?**

The others felt sorry for me. I could tell by the way they looked at me, pitying me, patronising me.

Tosh offered to teach me more about hacking, even though she hated people messing with her computers (on a side note, I was getting quite good). Ianto now gave me the fancy coffee mugs, with very generous amounts of squirty cream and chocolate sprinkles on my coffee. He kept saying "I know how you feel". Clearly he went through the same thing. The crazy lady - actually, she didn't really do anything, just looked at me as if to say "Aw, poor girl." And Owen... actually, Owen didn't do anything either. Idiot.

Jack was ignoring me. I couldn't figure out whether it was because of this or something else. I really doubted it was because I ate his slice of pizza.

Now that Jack had said I could stay here for the next month and a half until July, I started thinking I should maybe go. I didn't know if I could take it, hanging around for another month and a half, wondering why Jack was ignoring me.

- - - - - - -

They went on a mission. Well, more than one, but this one was important. Jack, Tosh, Gwen and Owen. I didn't know where, or what for, just that Ianto didn't go. They didn't seem to see him as part of the team, and I assumed something must have happened to him recently, because no one would look him in the eye.

Anyway, we had a bit of a chat over some pizza (see, he really did live up to his name!) and I got to know him a bit better. Apparently, he worked for the old Torchwood in London that Sarah Jane mentioned, but came looking for a job in Cardiff after "the battle".

Strangely enough, no one here would tell me about that either. I was pretty sure it was Jack's doing, but I couldn't see why I shouldn't know. It wasn't like it was some big secret - from what I'd heard, there were aliens all over the world, and thousands of people died. So why couldn't I know about it? He even blocked any information about it from the Hub's main interface - and I guessed that happened after I got there. I decided to ask him at some point, since Ianto wouldn't tell me anything.

I also asked Ianto why everyone else was avoiding him, and he muttered something about a girlfriend of his and changed the subject. I said sorry and we talked about how annoying poodles are. We had some things in common, at least.

- - - - - - -

Three days after that, and I made progress. The team were all going out to investigate some weird stuff in the countryside. Well, usually when they go out, Ianto stayed behind to make sure nothing happens with the Rift when they were away. Except this time, Ianto went with them.

So I was going to be left to monitor the Rift by myself. Well, I'd only just learnt how to use the program, and I didn't want to be left on my own while they went out and had all the fun, so I got Jack to take me with them.

He wasn't happy about it, but I didn't care. It felt like I was travelling with the Doctor again, chasing aliens, investigating creepy villages in the middle of nowhere... God, I had missed this. It was a bit cramped in the car though. We'd never had problems like this in the TARDIS.

A few hours later I was completely regretting it. We'd split into two groups, and I was with Tosh and Ianto (I think Jack wanted to get away from me). I stayed by Tosh's side as we investigated, in the hope that she'd teach me more about the computers, but no such luck.

I could barely remember what happened; one minute we were walking around this building, the next, I woke up in this dark, damp, cold room, heavy with the stench of gone-off meat.

It was disgusting. Tosh and Ianto were there too, but we couldn't find a way out. We were trapped underground, and it seemed like Jack, Gwen and Owen were the only people who could save us. Needless to say, I was being pretty useless. Sixteen years of travelling with the Doctor and Rose had taught me many things, but that list did not include how to escape from a deadlocked cellar in what can only be described as a nutter's house. Even my sonic screwdriver hadn't helped.

We were told about this Harvest thing that happened every few years, and taken to see some aliens. Well, we assumed they were aliens - I don't know if they were - but they looked as human as you or - well, okay, just you. They told us we were meat. They were going to eat us. Actually _eat_ us.

I had been kidnapped, tortured (nearly) and almost killed because of many things. Because I'm human (ish), because I'm "wrong", because I talked back, even once because I had blonde hair; but never had I been captured just because someone wanted food.

Toshiko, Ianto and I formed a plan.

It was all going well until my bit. Ianto managed to wound one of the men, and Tosh managed to get out, but I was too slow.

They kicked Ianto back, and I heard him telling me to run, but then the woman held her gun to him and I leapt in front of his body, not ready to have someone die for me just yet. It was terrifying, but my instinct-driven move couldn't be taken back. The woman jammed the gun down onto my face and I fell on top of Ianto with a crash, but I heard him breathing heavily, trying to fake unconciousness, just before everything went black.

- - - - - - -

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Owen's face. I heard the faint bleeping sound of a stats monitor and smelled the cleanliness of a hospital. Immediately, I tried to sit upright, my instinct to fear hospitals taking over. But, when I headbutted Owen and the crazy lady came to his side, I looked around and realised I was back in Torchwood.

"What 'appened?" I asked groggily, falling back onto the 'bed' (it was more of an operating table).

"You passed out." Jack said, making his way down into the medical bay.

"I... I what?" I asked again, blinking rapidly to try to make out what was going on around me. Jack smirked.

"Remember?" he stopped in front of me, and I found the strength to sit up. "In the country? The village? The human meat?"

Suddenly it all came back to me. The village, the woman, the gun. I looked around the room nervously. "Is everyone okay? What happened?"

"Everyone's fine. We've dealt with it." Jack told me, and looked at Owen. "She okay now?" he asked, and Owen nodded.

"Yep, you're free to go. As am I." he said simply, then unhooked me from the machine and exited out the door, with Gwen soon following behind.

"I think I'll take off now too, Jack." Tosh said, walking to the door, and Jack nodded, helping me up and out of the autopsy bay.

"See you tomorrow." he called after them, leading me up to his office. When I got up there, I walked towards the sofa-bed, ready to collapse into it, when I saw my reflection in a mirror on the wall. My hand hovered over my face as my jaw dropped. A large dark bruise was obscurring my left eye and cheek; my lips were badly cut and scars shone with dried blood across my skin.

I studied my disfigured face for moments before accepting it, and was then interrupted by Jack entering. He smiled at me, but then his face fell, and he breathed out heavily.

"What happened today, Alli," he began, and I sat on the sofa casually. "It can't happen again."

I was shocked. "What?"

He walked over to me, supposedly to reassure me or something, but it didn't work. "Listen, you were in danger today. More danger than I should have put you in - and you almost died."

"So did Ianto and Tosh!" I countered, though not being able to speak for Owen or Gwen.

"Yeah, but they're part of Torchwood. They're members of this team, they are their own resposibilty. You're _my_ responsibility; I need you safe." I frowned. What was he talking about? "And you're not part of Torchwood."

"So let me be!" I begged.

"You know I can't. I -" he stopped, trying to pull the conversation back onto his topic. "Ianto can look after himself. He got himself hurt trying to get you and Toshiko out of there, and you wasted that sacrifice by staying with him, and ended up getting yourself hurt even more."

"They were gonna kill 'im!" I yelled angrily, standing up from the sofa.

"They wouldn't have harmed him until they needed to, and we'd have gotten him out before then!" he shouted back.

"So I should have left him there?"

"If it meant you got out to safety, yes!"

I didn't reply immediately, my body shaking with anger, and Jack seemed to realise how harsh his words were.

"Look, I understand: you travelled with the Doctor, you're used to being in a small group, used to looking after each other."

"And you don't do that here?"

"Not unless you're part of Torchwood!" he said, exasperated. "Alli, when are you going to realise you're not one of us? Yes, we work together. _We_ work together, okay: _us_. Not _you._ Get used to it, Alli. We're Torchwood. You're not."

He walked out of the room and slammed the door, and for a moment I just stood there, open-mouthed, staring at the place he had just been stood. Then anger rose in me and I threw the door open.

"Well, you can just fuck off, Jack bloody Harkness!" I yelled madly, stomping down the stairs after him. He didn't even turn around. "I don't need protecting! I'm 16!"

"Alli, give it up."

"I want to help! Let me do that, Jack, please!"

"You know I can't."

"Yes you can!"

"Alli -"

"Don't 'Alli' me! I can take care of myself. Don't you think that travelling with the Doctor was just as dangerous as this?"

Silence. Had I win?

"Alli." he said firmly, though somehow also softly. "I would love for you to be on the team." VICTORY!! "But," Damn. "I don't want to have to explain to the Doctor why you're dead, or in a different body, when you get back to him."

"Forget about the Doctor!" I begged him. "Please! I can do this, let me help!"

Another silence. Wow. Jack was never lost for words.

"Please." I asked again. "I don't even need to come on all the dangerous ones. Just... just let me help Toshiko. Please, she's teaching me all about the system; I'm actually quite good."

Jack sighed. The tension was almost unbearable. "One week trial. You cause any trouble, you're out."

YES! AT LAST!

What happened after that was a bit of a blur as a result of my giddy happiness. I thanked Jack, then found Ianto and gave him a celebratory hug and high five, then collapsed onto my bed and fell asleep.

Victory was mine.

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A/N: This is kind of turning into a diary, isn't it? Anyway, review please!


	17. Poodles Can Be Useful

**Disclaimer: Wanting to own something and actually owning something are only the same thing if you're drunk. Which I'm not.**

A/N: This chapter's a bit boring I guess, and quite short, but it's pretty vital.

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**Poodles Can Be Useful**

It was the 20th of June. I (hopefully) had only 33 days to wait until the Doctor and Rose came to refuel! I was getting excited. I thought I saw the TARDIS on the CCTV camera once - a Doctor and Rose from my past refueling outside. Hey, they might even have had a younger me with them! I had to physically restrain myself from running outside to meet them.

Jack didn't seem to realise that they keep coming to refuel. Or maybe he was waiting for the ones from _my _Timeline, just in case he screwed up history or something now that he'd met me? Then again, I think he's already screwed up history by being immortal.

It was weird though; after all the time I'd spent in Cardiff, that was the first time I ever caught a glimpse of them refueling. I couldn't always have been missig them, could I? I don't know. Maybe they didn't refuel as often as I thought.

For all my thinking that Torchwood was so exciting, there had been no Rift activity for two days. Two whole days.

The most exciting thing that had happened is that I startd to become pretty sure there was something going on between Gwen and Owen. Ianto seemed to share this thought.

I asked him about my theory. He was definitely shagging Jack.

- - - - - - -

Jack decided that, even if he didn't like me coming on the dangerous missions, he wanted me to know how to use a gun. I have to say, the thought at first terrified me, but I grew to love it. I was really good, too; Jack said I was way better than Gwen!

But apart from that, nothing else happened. I was left to my own devices, which meant I was down the shooting range for a lot of the time, pretending to be a secret agent. Which, I suppose, I kind of was.

- - - - - - -

Finally, something exciting happened! A skeleton was found in a building site, along with an alien artifact. Everyone was called out, except Ianto. I wasn't allowed to go; I had to study the Rift. Honestly, what trouble could I have caused with a _corpse_?

Anyway, Ianto and I bonded. We both decided that Gwen and Owen _were_ going out, and also that Toshiko definitely fancied him. She'd been acting weird lately. Whenever she saw one of us she just looked at us blankly, like she was hearing something, or seeing us in a new light. Weird.

- - - - - - -

I was getting really good at the technical side of Torchwood. Jack even had me drawing up this cross-reference list of Rift activity so that we could try and work out when and where each alien had come from. No idea why. But never mind.

Toshiko was still acting weird. Owen broke her computer. He had no idea how much she fancied him. Idiot. I assumed she'd made a new friend or something. She was still being weird, but seemed a bit happier than usual. Then other times, she looked right at me, and she was so distant, like she'd just unearthed something horrible and didn't know what to make of it.

- - - - - - -

A few days after that, Tosh came into work with some woman. Ianto, Gwen, Owen and I had gone out for a break, and when we came back in, there were Tosh and her friend, and Jack holding the alien thing found at the building site.

We heard the woman say something about eating someone's heart, and then Owen came out with "And that's what you've been doing ever since."

I had _no_ idea what was going on.

I listened to the conversation with confusion and amazement. Apparently this girl, this alien, was banished to Earth, and the alien artifact is her transporter.

I didn't actually do anything (I was only one day into my trial week and didn't want to mess it up) but I watched as Jack got Toshiko to safety and gave the woman the transporter. She disappeared in a flash of light, and we all stared at Jack, not believing he'd let her get away.

But he hadn't. He'd sent her to the sun. Toshiko was heart-broken.

They went outside the Hub now, to have one of Jack's 'talks'. I stayed with Ianto, helping him write out the case notes. Sometimes I felt really sorry for him; the others were all out there doing their mission stuff, and there was Ianto, doing admin. And I was right there with him too.

I really had to finish that cross-reference list for Jack. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I considered asking Tosh to help me when she was feeling better.

There were 30 days to go. That was practically less than a month. I was using my new Poodle calendar (bought courtesy of Ianto as a joke gift, since we established that should try keeping track of time for once) to count down the days.

* * *

A/N: I do actually like Owen. But Alli's friends with Tosh and Ianto, so in her eyes, he's a bit of a twat.

I feel depressed about Ianto now. _"Can't imagine the time when this isn't everything. Pain so constant, like my stomach's full of rats. Feels like this is all I am now. There isn't an inch of me that doesn't hurt."_ That's what Tosh hears when she's wearing the pendant from _Greeks Bearing Gifts_. :(


	18. Suzie Isn't Dead

**Disclaimer: Hey, do you think if someone wanted to use Alli, they'd have to put a disclaimer on her? :P**

A/N: This chapter sees the return of Suzie Costello. I really liked her character. And no, not just because she tried to kill Gwen.

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**Suzie Isn't Dead**

I was officially freaking out. If I had it right, there would be 25 days left until the right Doctor and Rose came to refuel at the Rift.

What was I supposed to do when that happened? Just run up to the ship and hope for the best?  
What if I missed them?  
What if they'd already been to pick me up in 2022 and found that I wasn't there?  
What would I say to them when I found them?  
What if I got the Doctor and Rose from the wrong Timeline? How would I explain to the past Doctor, Rose and me who I was?

I told all of this to Ianto, and he made me a cup of hot chocolate and told me to chill. Surprisingly, it worked.

The team went out to a crime scene that day, and Jack let me go! I was actually planning on staying behind with Toshiko and Ianto, but Tosh knew the Hub programming better than me, and Jack needed someone with him to control the SUV's computers, so... enter Alli! Finally, I was useful.

Anyway, a couple was murdered, and the murderer left the word 'Torchwood' written on the wall. In blood. And the killer had this stuff, 'Retcon' in his blood - Ianto told me it's Torchwood's own little amnesia pill.

We had a meeting about it, and the crazy - wait... I'm part of the team now, I need to start being professional. So, _Gwen_ suggested using this thing to question the victims of the attack. It was this glove that brings people back to life for a few minutes. I was against it - that's just not right - but everyone else seemed convinced, and it was agreed.

Jack tried, but couldn't work it. The team looked to Gwen - thank God they didn't expect me to do it - and she tried. The first victim didn't say a lot when he was brought back; he just screamed for his mum. But the second victim, he gave us the name of the killer (Max), an organisation he's is (Pilgrim), and another name. Suzie.

You're probably wondering what I'm going on about, and believe me, that's what I was thinking too, but then Ianto explained it all. Suzie used to work for Torchwood. Gwen kind of replaced her, when she went a bit crazy and started killing people. Oh, and she killed herself. She had some issue that involved killing people then bringing them back to like with the glove, but that didn't really interest me.

Anyway, we went to this big storage place and looked through Suzie's stuff; apparently when you join Torchwood, not even death lets you quit. Turned out she _was_ a member of Pilgrim, and Jack decided we had to bring her back to life.

- - - - - - -

Suzie was on the autopsy table. She looked so strong, like she wasn't meant to be dead. Gwen couldn't get through to her, so Jack had to kill her again with this knife.

Then she woke up. It was all a bit chaotic. Toshiko stayed at her desk, not wanting to see Suzie again, but Jack, Owen, Ianto and I watched as Gwen brought her back. She was not impressed. She didn't really help us much, but when Gwen lost her, well, she just didn't lose her. Ianto was about to stop counting (he was in charge of timing the ressurections) when I pointed out the screen showing her pulse and stats. She was still alive. Just unconscious.

She was taken into the interrogation room and we found out that this Max guy was killing every member of Pilgrim. She gave us the location of some girl, and Jack, Owen and Gwen went off to investigate. Surprise, surprise, I wasn't allowed. They caught the killer, anyway, and it all turned out fine. Ish.

I was, however, allowed in on a secret. Well, only Gwen didn't know, so it wasn't much of a secret... But basically, Suzie was draining the life out of Gwen as she grew stronger.

And then they disappeared.

And then the Hub went into Lockdown. Great.

But we got out, with the help of the local police.

Then, guess what I was told to do, while Jack and Owen went out looking for Gwen and Suzie? Stay here. Yeah. Thanks.

I was with Tosh and Ianto, so I guess it wasn't too bad. I got to help track Gwen's car, even if I didn't get to find out what happened for myself.

Jack killed her. He murdered Suzie all over again, to keep Gwen alive. But when that didn't work, he told us to destroy the glove. I had no idea what was going on (I needed to ask for one of those headset things...) but Toshiko told me to watch the computers, and shot the glove.

As confused as I was, I kept an eye on the computers and monitors, and minutes later, Jack, Gwen and Owen walked into Torchwood with the dead body of Suzie Costello.

I felt sorry for her. It couldn't have been easy, dying twice.

She never even knew me.

* * *

A/N: That was probably a bit boring for you, but I thought it might be good to involve the episodes more. Review please!


	19. Do Ghosts Exist?

**Disclaimer: I own my OC (shocker, isn't it?) and my sub-plot, which makes an appearance in this chapter.**

A/N: I've re-written another episode. It's Random Shoes. But this re-write is actually _very_ major to the plot. Well, the end of it is.

* * *

**Do Ghosts Exist?**

I had 20 days to go. I should really have tried to stop thinking about it, shouldn't I?

But the only other things I had to think about are Torchwood, and how well my face was healing after the expedition in the countryside.

So, in other news, I aquired my very own Bluetooth earpiece! That meant that I could now talk to the rest of the team when they were on their missions (or at least know what they were saying).

I really felt like part of Torchwood, even if Jack still hardly ever let me out of the Hub on missions. But I was nearly as good as Toshiko at working the computer software, and I even (albeit accidentally) managed to hack into the top secret UNIT files. Don't worry, I didn't cause World War Three or anything.

- - - - - - -

Nothing much was going on. Well, nothing that Jack would let me help with. Which meant that when I wasn't learning about the Hub's interface (I started to think I might be able to find a way to hack into it and find out about this battle), I was rushing about the place and getting more and more excited by the day.

I had to invent tasks for me to do just to keep myself from going insane. God, I'm really impatient. I did the week's shopping (and found out just how weird their shopping list is: Coffee, milk, sugar, batteries and aspirin), re-organised the Tourist shop which hid the entrance to the Hub (Ianto was very impressed), and took over Ianto's job of 'Teaboy' until I found something else to keep me occupied.

Anyway, this guy, Eugene Jones, was killed in a car accident. I never met him, but apparently he used to keep bothering Torchwood with his alien conspiracies and such.

Gwen had been out of the Hub pretty much all day. I'm not sure where, but nothing interesting's happened, so she hadn't missed much.

She came back in talking about some alien eye she'd found, or knew about. I wondered, if this meant they have to go out and find it, would Jack let me come?

Well, turns out, he would let me come. And he did. With 18 days left, I guess he felt sorry for me, and so, there we were (minus Ianto again), at Eugene Jones' house. Just after his funeral.

It looked so sad; all his family, just standing there in black. I'd never been to a funeral. I guess I hadn't known enough people for one of them to die, thank God.

Anyway, we came to collect the alien eye that Gwen found, though what that had to do with this Eugene guy, I have no idea. I didn't know why we were still here; Gwen seemed sad that he was dead though. I wonder if she knew him?

She walked out into the road past the SUV, and just watched his family standing around as a man (Eugene's dad perhaps) got out of a car to join them. I walked out next to her for a bit of moral support. I was feeling a bit guilty about how I let my first impression take over. I suppose she was okay really. She was a bit of a nutter though.

Anyway, we were just stood there watching the world go by, and she seemed so lost. I guess we both were. I couldn't speak for her, but this strange sensation came over me, as if there was nothing else in the world except for this poor, grieving family. All I could hear were their sobs, all I could see were their desolate, saddened faces.

So, of course, we didn't notice as a car rounded the corner. We didn't see it speed towards us as if we weren't there. We didn't hear the tyres screech on the road. But we did both hear two voices.

_"NAT!"_

_"GWEN!"_

I spun round on my heel with shock and saw Jack, wide-eyed, about to rush over to me. I glanced to my right and saw the blue car. Hey, I didn't need to be told twice. I dove forwards out of the car's way, and fell into Jack, landing both of us on the pavement. I rolled over onto my side and let him help me up. I stared at him with shock and disbelief, not knowing what to say, and he looked away to where some random guy was lying on Gwen.

That, I was later told, was Eugene Jones. Or his ghost. Or something. Either way, he'd just saved Gwen, as Jack had saved me (though, I might add, slightly more heroically than Jack).

The journey back to the Hub was one of vague blurriness (for me, anyway). I tuned out to their conversation, and Jack too was pretty quiet. All I could think about was his voice, yelling the word across the street. I could have died, if he hadn't -

Oh, right. This is probably where I should do some more explaining, since you're smart enough to realise that 'Nat' isn't my name. Not anymore, anyway.

When we got back to the Hub, I didn't need to be asked; I followed Jack up to his office, where he was sat at his desk facing the wall, studying something intently.

I stood there for a moment, then shut the door, but still didn't speak. I couldn't.

Finally, I managed a few words. "Why did you call me Nat?"

He turned around and threw something on the table. I picked it up wordlessly. It was a photo; but more specifically, it was a photo of me. A photo from years ago, in the 51st Century, where I had visited with the Doctor and Rose. (I say visited, but it was a bit long for a visit.)

"Natalie. That is still your name, right?" he asked me sarcastically, but I didn't really register the question anyway.

"Where did you get this?" I asked him quietly, studying the image intently.

"It's mine." he replied, and I looked up from the photo, the shock clearly evident on my face. I was literally wordless.

So now, I guess I should explain.

Some time ago, when I was approximately 15 Earth years old, the Doctor and Rose took me to the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st Century. (It was supposed to be just a quick tourist visit, but what with the TARDIS braking and the Doctor and Rose getting lost in a gravity tunnel and me falling in love, the stay grew and grew until it reached four months.)

In the picture, I was stood, in my 51st Century clothes, on a long strip of sand, with a castle-like building in the background. And next to me, with his arms around my waist, laughing and holding me still for the photo as I tried to duck away, was my fiancé.

And I know what you're thinking. The title 'Time Lady', or 'Daughter of the Doctor' doesn't exactly come with the description of going around getting engaged to random guys. You might not think four months is a long enough amount of time to declare your engagement, but for us, it was plenty. And we would have had to wait for two years before we married anyway, according to the 51st Century Law (and my parents).

Anyway, it went like this: On the first day of our 'visit' to the Boeshane Peninsula, I met this guy. I don't think I need to tell you that this guy, in a number of years, would change his name to Captain Jack Harkness, go on to meet my parents in the past, save the world a couple of hundred times, and then meet me again.  
And, to explain his calling me 'Nat': I never used the name 'Alli' unless I was around my family. At school, all my friends called me Nat, believing it was short for Natalie, although it was really short for Allindrasssonatila. Just like the Doctor hides his real name under that title, I hid my real name under Nat. When we got round to marriage, I gues I would have told him my real name, but it never came to that.

To cut a very long story short: We went out for three months, since the Doctor broke the TARDIS and got himself and Rose lost (don't ask), we became completely infatuated, and he proposed. We were _really_ young, but in the future, it's pretty normal for people to get engaged at my age, and so quickly.

I'm not saying it's the smartest thing I ever did. In fact, it was probably one of the stupidest, although we were 'in love', and we were all set to spend the rest of our lives together (ish). But then something happened to put an end to us once and for all.

In short, I blame the aliens. You see, the Boeshane Peninsula was kind of haunted. There were these aliens that passed over the city sometimes, these terrible creatures. Usually they just flew straight past. But one day they didn't. Well, they wouldn't have, but I didn't get to find out what really happened.

Two days before their planned invasion, the Doctor had gotten the TARDIS fixed. To check it was working, he'd had to take it for a short journey, and decided to go a week into the future; just to stop off quickly then come back. Except, when he landed in the future, he discovered what was going to happen. He knew that the aliens would invade, so he did the only thing he could do to make sure Rose and I were safe. He didn't even explain, he just took us away; away from the place, away from my fiancé, away from my new life. I never saw him again. Until now.

And I didn't even get to say goodbye.

* * *

A/N: Are you confused? You're meant to be. But if it's too much, let me know, and I'll try to make it easier to understand. Because I'm not even sure if _I_ get it from _that_.


	20. Saved By The Claxon

**Disclaimer: I don't even own the sub-plots, really. Except my Alli/Jack one.**

A/N: Wow, long time with no updates. Sorry.  
I kind of skipped over Out Of Time, just because I wanted to get on with the next bit of the story. Sorry if you were looking forward to it!

* * *

**Saved By The Claxon**

Jack and I remained in his office for most of the night. We talked (well, I did mostly, there was a lot of explaining to do), we yelled (he did mostly), we cried (actually, that was just me), and then we just talked through the dawn until the claxon sounded and alerted us to the fact that Gwen and Owen had arrived.

The subjects of our discussion included:  
1. Who we were (it got a bit confusing, what with both of us having more than one name)  
2. Why I left (hence the talking from me and shouting from Jack; he was pretty mad)  
3. What happened after I left (hence the crying from me. Jack's brother, Gray, who I had come to think of as my own brother, was captured by the aliens. We don't know what happened to him)  
4. The Doctor and Rose (why they took me away from him, what would happen when I went back to them, etc.)  
5. How old Jack was (at this point, we just needed to talk, it didn't matter what about)  
6. "The Battle" (Well, actually this is what we _didn't_ talk about. Once again, I asked, and once again, he changed the subject. I may have yelled. It didn't help.)  
7. What would happen next...

At number seven, the conversation got awkward again. Well, for me, anyway. Jack seemed so unfazed, I wondered if he'd actually done this before or something. Or maybe that was just him.

I understood that feeling I was having. When I first met Jack, I felt like I knew him, but I couldn't really remember or place him. Well, I had found out know who he was, or rather, who he used to be.

So, we postponed number seven to go and meet Gwen and Owen. It seemed Gwen had escaped the almost-car-accident unscathed, while I had a large bruise on my hip (and a still-quite-disfigured face from our outing to the countryside).

- - - - - - -

The Rift, once again, wasn't being very active, but Jack had been out with Ianto, 'Weevil-hunting' (though they went with such glee, I wonder whether that was the truth), so we haden't had a chance to talk, unsurprisingly.

It was strange: I knew Jack was completely different fom the boy I fell in love with in the 51st Century - he didn't even have the same name - but I couldn't help thinking all these things about him. Like, maybe we could still be together? Then I thought 'No, that's crazy'. For a start, he was hundreds of years old; and the Doctor and Rose would kill me; and Ianto probably would too. So there was no question about it. Jack and I were long since over. So why did he keep avoiding me?

I'd just been sat on my bed in Jack's office, staring at the photo which I remembered him taking away on my first day here. It was a picture similar to the one he'd shown me, where he and I stood together in the 51st Century, looking just like a normal couple. My eyes drifted upwards to the calendar on the wall. Just 17 days until I could be up there in the sky.

Jack and I didn't tell the others about us. I guess we didn't know what to tell. _Was_ there anything to tell? There was no "us" anymore. It was more or less two years ago for me, and God knows how long ago for him.

- - - - - - -

Four days later, we had massive Rift activity. Three humans came through from the past. It was apparently quite exciting, but I wasn't there for any of it. I was visiting Sarah Jane, as a kind of thank you and goodbye before the Doctor and Rose arrived.

It was great fun; I spent a day with Sarah Jane, and spent the next day shopping with Maria, Luke and Clyde. I'd miss them when I left. And everyone at Torchwood. It almost made me want to stay a bit longer.

But wouldn't that make me crazy?

- - - - - - -

I came back to Torchwood, and was skillfully(ish) avoiding Jack. It wasn't that I didn't like him - if anything, it was the opposite - it wass just that whenever I looked at him, all I could see was the man I once almost married. It was hard not to want him back.

Apparently, one of the women that came through the Rift became 'good friends' with Owen, and now that she's left, he's heartbroken. He certainly got through a lot of women. I wonder what happened with him and Gwen? In fact, didn't Gwen have a boyfriend? Strange...

So, I hadn't seen much of Owen, and Gwen had been acting a bit weird, and Tosh was getting quieter each day. So it was just me and Ianto, really. We got along really well, talking about rubbish mostly, but it passed the time. The days went by faster.

But, and it was making me feel really guilty, with hopefully just 10 days left, I thought I was starting to rethink things. I mean, I couldn't wait to get back to the Doctor and Rose, and I loved my life with them, but... well, while I was clever, school had never really been my thing. I didn't know if I'd be able to go back to that life after all of this. It was like I'd finally become independent. I had to look after myself; I tracked down Sarah Jane and found Torchwood, and I'd even lived on my own in Cardiff for a while before I found Jack. I really would miss all of this.

- - - - - -

Someone kidnapped a Weevil. You'd think that was a good thing, since it meant we had less of them to worry about, but no. Apparantly the kidnappers were using the Weevils to kill people, or something.

There was a death, which we found out the next day. Owen (who hads been unsurprisingly vacant in the Hub since Diane left) was called in to do the Post-Mortem.

The day after that (it was moving surprisingly slowly for a Torchwood investigation), Owen went to do some infiltrating, much to his annoyance, and we found out pretty much nothing. Except that he and Gwen had a fall out. I helped Toshiko to design and create a fake website for him, and also found out through Ianto that the Weevil we held in the cells was called Janet. Weird. But then again, with a Pterodactyl named Myfanwy, I guess that was just Torchwood's nature.  
Jack and Ianto went out to question a Weevil-attack victim in hospital, but took quite a bit longer than we thought they should have. In the meantime, I was questioned about Jack and I, and the mysterious 'Nat'. I said nothing. I didn't think our past needed to be whispered about around the Hub.

So, that night Gwen was sent home to stop her life from "drifting"; Owen went out... somewhere; and Jack, Ianto and Toshiko went out to track down the Weevil kidnappers. Oddly, Jack offered to take me to track down the Weevils with them, but I refused. I wonder why...

Instead, I continued the list that Jack had asked me to make ages ago about where and when the aliens were coming from, and got it up to date, ending with Diane and the other two that came through the Rift a few days ago. That only took about half an hour, then I went up to Jack's office. With nothing to do, and not feeling like doing anything, I thought I might as well go to sleep, but I just couldn't.

I couldn't stop seeing myself in the 51st Century, all ready to start a life of my own. I saw Jack's photo on the desk and that started me off. Tears just started to run down my face; I wasn't even completely sure why. I found a whole album from Jack's childhood tucked away inside his desk, and I sat down on the bed with it, just flicking through and imagining what could have been, letting the photos take me back to our time.

When the claxon sounded an hour or so later, I couldn't even be bothered to move. Not wanting anyone to see me so upset, I didn't answer when Gwen called out, and kept flicking through Jack's old photos as she wandered about downstairs. But then I heard her talking, and assumed she was talking to Jack over the comms. I switched mine on defeatedly, laying the photo album aside, and picked up the end of the conversation.

"Okay, I've got the location." Toshiko was saying.

"Gwen, we'll pick you up on the way." came Jack's voice, and I froze. Should I go?

For me, it was a massive choice. I only had one week left in Cardiff before the Doctor and Rose should get here, so this was decision time. I could stay behind at the Hub and start to faze myself out, getting ready to return to my old, mundane life when I found the Doctor and Rose again. Or, I could go with them. I could stick with Torchwood, and ask to stay on after I'd found out what had happened to the Doctor and Rose.

I made my decision in a matter of seconds.

Standing up quickly, I rushed over to the desk and put the albums delicately back inside. I straightened up, and looked over to the mirror, where I saw that my tears had almost completely dried up, and were for the most part covered by the slowly fading bruise over my eye and cheek.

I took a deep breath and put on a fake smile before opening the door and heading down the stairs, stopping and feigning surprise when I saw Gwen.

Minutes later, I found myself with Jack, Gwen, Toshiko and Ianto as we burst in through a door inside a massive warehouse. There were hundreds of men standing around on the balconies, as if watching a show, and the air was thick with the smell of rotting flesh and smoke. Toshiko and Ianto contained the crowd (though I don't know why Gwen didn't go, since she's the crazy lady), while Jack, Gwen and I went for the cage in the middle of the room, where a familiar figure was locked inside, battling with a Weevil. Owen.

At the sight of our guns, the guards backed away from the cage, much to our annoyance, as they had the keys to open it. So, while Gwen was being worried aobut Owen, I grabbed the keys from the guards and started trying to unlock the door. Why they needed so many keys on the chain was beyond me. Jack managed to shoot the Weevil as it mauled Owen, then I got the cage open and Gwen burst in.

Today, Owen was in hospital. He suffered major injuries in his fight with the Weevil, but I didn't visit. I really do hate hospitals.

There were six days left.

* * *

A/N: It's getting to another good bit! Review please!


	21. Through The Rift Go Torchwood

**Disclaimer: I seriously don't own even this chapter. It's practically just ripped out of the episode.**

A/N: Exciting chapter today! Enjoy!  
Sorry about the really slow update; I have had writer's block, school, and boy related issues (;D) to distracted me. Some in a good way, but not for you, since it meant the updates were sparse. So I've just written this and another chapter (will be up soon) to make up for it. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Through The Rift Go Torchwood**

With five days left, I was getting even more restless. Ianto even reduced my coffee allowance to one cup a day.

Jack and Toshiko went out to investigate an old derelict building where people had complained of hearing music. I stayed put with Owen, Ianto and Gwen.

Owen fell asleep, while I attempted (and failed) to hack into the Hub's interface and find out what that flipping Battle was that everyone kept going on about. Ianto was making coffee and Gwen was out... somwhere.

Suddenly, a loud beeping alarm ran throughout the Hub. I swore under my breath, quickly closed down the program I was using, and stepped back with my hands in the air. "It wasn't me." I denied stupidly, and Ianto rushed over to Toshikos' computer, which I then realised was the source of the noise. "Oh." I sighed, and walked around to her desk, glancing at Owen on the sofa, who had been woken by the noise.

"What the Hell is that noise?" he grumbled as he pulled himself upright.

"Tosh's rift monitor program." I replied casually. "She set it to alert me if there were any further movements."

"The rift's been opening more and more recently." Ianto observed, studying the readings on the screen.

"Yeah, well, I've noticed that." Owen sighed, standing up and walking over to us. "Doesn't take a genius."

"Tosh reckons the equations are forming a pattern." I told the two of them, recounting my last conversation with her. "We should call her. She might have readings her end, and I barely understand this."

Ianto picked up his phone and started to dial, while Owen put his hands on his hips. "Why haven't I been told about any of this?"

"Well, you been off, haven't you?" Ianto replied, and brought the phone away from his ear. "Line's dead."

After a quick call to Gwen, who headed down Sage Street to fin Toshiko and Jack, Owen wandered over to Toshiko's other computer and brought up her files. "Hey!" he called over to us. "I've got into Tosh's files, all her reports. See there -" he pointed to a row of information on the screen, "- That's when Diane flew through the Rift. And I had to let her go."

"You were in love with her, weren't you?" Ianto asked, who'd been present for the incident, but even I had guessed what had gone on between Owen and Diane.

"If Tosh knows a way of opening the Rift, maybe we can get Diane back."

"Jack would never allow it." Ianto shook his head, and I agreed.

"Opening the Rift would devestate the city."

- - - - - - -

In the conference room sometime later, Owen spread out the files from the Ghost-music hall where Toshiko and Jack were supposed to be, though Gwen had been having no luck in finding them.

"Right, the Ritz Dancehall, opened in 1932, shut down in 1989." Owen said, flashing up newspaper articles on the scren behind him. "Due to be demolished in one week. Now, the reported music is from the 1940s. Why is a ghost job taking them this long?"

The articles behind him stopped on one titled '_Puttin' on the Ritz_.' The page scrolled down to show soldiers dancing in the hall in 1941, and stopped at the bottom of the page.

"All those young soldiers..." Ianto muttered. A new photo appeared on the page and Ianto froze. "Owen, Alli, look. There." He pointed to the screen, and we both turned to look. Owen frowned, and I gasped quietly.

"Jack?"

It appeared that Jack and Toshiko had been transported back in time, and were stuck there. Gwen remained at the dance hall, in the hope that she could find them, and Ianto, Owen and I got to work on trying to open the Rift to get them (and possibly Diane) back.

We all went down to Toshiko's computer and I read through the equations and readings quickly.

"We can't do it." I told Owen. "Half the equation's missing."

"It must be somewhere else. Let me try." Owen pushed Ianto and I aside to reach the computer.

"It's not there." I told him pointlessly.

"It might be on her laptop." Ianto suggested, and Owen started to look for it. "Which she never goes anywhere without." he added, and Owen kicked the desk.

"Shit." he swore, his anger rising. "Shit!"

From that point on, I wanted my coffee allowance back.

- - - - - - -

"Anything your end?" Gwen's voice spoke over the comms from inside the dance hall.

"There are no more photographs of Jack and Tosh after that night." Ianto reported as we looked through the reports at the workstations. That's encouraging."

"Yeah, unless the bombs got 'em." Owen stated cynically, but Ianto ignored him.

"The manager, Bilis Manger, kept them for posterity." He looked up at an article about Bilis.

"Bilis Manger?" Gwen asked us, her voice wearing a frown. "That's the name of the caretaker."

"Can't be the same guy, can it?" Ianto asked her, as I studied the photos of Toshiko and Jack in the dance hall.

"Not old enough." Gwen replied. "But he does look a bit out of his time. He wears a cravat."

I froze, looking at the photo of Jack, Toshiko, a soldier, and an old man wearing a cravat. Bilis Manger. "Gwen, he's in the picture with Jack and Tosh!" I yelled at her through the earpiece.

"He's the answer." Owen said suddenly. "He came through the Rift. Find out what he's doing."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "But he could be dangerous!" I said.

"Alli's right." Ianto agreed. "Get out, Gwen. Wait for backup."

"We can't lose him." Owen insisted.

"We can't lose Gwen." countered Ianto. I stayed out of it. "Maybe this is a trap. He could be sucking us back through time, one by one. Get out of there, Gwen. That's an order."

"Sorry, but who the Hell put you in charge?" Owen asked rudely, and Ianto didn't reply. Neither did Gwen.

- - - - - - -

Minutes later, while I was investigating anything I could find about strange missing people in 1941 and this Bilis Manger guy, another argument broke out between Owen and Ianto.

"What are you doing?" Ianto asked Owen as he pullled away a section of the floor grating and pulled up some wires. "Owen!" he asked again, when Owen didn't look around.

"We haven't got the missing numbers." explained Owen. "We'll improvise with the Rift Manipulator."

We can't." Ianto objected. "It's risky enough with the equation. If we don't do it properly, anything can happen."

Owen lifted out some wires and headed back over to the desks with them. "Bombs are falling. They're stuck in the middle of the Cardiff Blitz. It's our duty to get 'em out."

"Open the Rift and the world could suffer." Ianto contined to argue, following Owen over to the desks. "We could all get sucked in. Who knows what will come out?" Owen ignored him still. "This is about Diane! When will you accept that she chose to leave you?"

I saw Owen lift his head to glare at Ianto. "Whereas your cyber-girlfriend, she stuck around. Course, not that she had a choice, wired-up in the cellar." Ianto hesitated; I didn't comment, not knowing much about what had happened with Lisa, Ianto's ex-girlfriend.

"That was different." Ianto said quickly.

"Yeah, it was." Owen agreed sardonically. "Mainly because Diane didn't try and kill us and, oh yeah, she also happened to be a human being."

"Stop it."

"Not some souped-up monster."

"I thought she was still Lisa. I loved her! You only knew Diane for a week."

"And it wasn't enough." Owen walked away with the wires and caught me listening in to the conversation. "What, you think you know love?" he snapped at me. "You left Jack when you were engaged. I'd kill for that chance with Diane." My jaw dropped and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, not understanding how he could know about Jack and I.

"Oh, you don't have to be stupid to work it out. With the pictures, and the way he looks at you, and talks about you. But you went and ballsed up your chance, so -" At this point I dashed forward and grabbed his collar, my anger getting the better of me. Taken by surprise, he was unable to stop me as I pushed him up against the column, but he soon broke away.

"You have got _no_ right to comment on that." I snarled hotly through clenched teeth. He didn't reply, just glared at me for a second and walked away.

"Maybe the Manipulator can calculate the missing figures." He hooked the plugs and wires up to a computer and tried to connect them. "It isn't working." he stated.

"Good." Ianto said shortly. "Jack would never have wanted us to use it this way."

Owen studied the Rift Manipulator. "There's a piece missing. We've got to find it." He moved around to look for it, and Ianto grabbed his arm, but Owen broke away easily.

"Maybe you should go home." Ianto suggested.

"You don't have any power over me." Owen told him, then sighed and shrugged. "Okay, Ianto, we'll play it your way - safe and boring."

I frowned, and exchanged a curious glance with Ianto.

* * *

A/N: (Okay, I know I got the dates completely wrong, as the series was in December-ish time, and I've got it all happening in June, but I didn't think that would matter. It is mentioned in the actual episode of _Captain Jack Harkness_, but I'm just pretending it isn't. :P)

Review! (And yeah, I know, rubbish way to end the chapter.)


	22. Disagreements

**Disclaimer: Again, I've ripped off everything except Alli from the BBC. -sigh- It's a good life.**

A/N: Rubbish chapter title, I know, but still, the chapter should be quite good. Even if it is way too much like the actual episode for my liking. But I didn't want to change it too much. Sorry about the slow update again, but this time I have a valid excuse. We used our internet lots, so the server people stopped our connection. That's clever.

* * *

**Disagreements**

"No sign of Bilis leaving the area." Ianto reported, after scanning through the CCTV images outside the dance hall.

I turned around to see Owen pulling on his jacket.

"Where are you off to?" Ianto asked, frowning, as Owen walked away towards the door.

"The dance hall." Owen replied simply. "Bilis's office. He must know how the Rift works. Maybe we'll find a clue there."

Ianto opened his mouth to reply but then just shook his head in annoyance, and let Owen walk out of the Hub. He turned back to the workstation and tapped on the keyboard defeatedly.

- - - - - - -

"I found them!" Gwen's voice erupted in my ear a few minutes later. "The equations; Tosh hid them outside." I took my position at the computer as Gwen reeled off the numbers, but then shrugged at Ianto when nothing happened, reading through the formula to look for mistakes.

Ianto sighed. "We need more equations, Gwen." he spoke into the headset, and I heard Gwen sigh on the other end.

"What happened here, Tosh?" she whispered to herself.

"Be careful, Gwen." Ianto advised after a few seconds. "Bilis is still around."

Gwen didn't answer immediately. "Owen, where are you?" she asked after a moment, and we frowned.

"I'm in the building." I heard Owen reply over his headset. "Where's Bilis' office?"

"It's at the far end of the corridor." Gwen replied. "I'll keep looking out here."

I let out a long sigh and turned back to the computer screen, my eyes running along the lines of the equation in case I could work out the missing parts of the equation.

After several minutes, all I had achieved was a headache.

"I'm going to check everywhere for the other figures. I'm not going to leave Jack now." we heard Gwen tell us from the dance hall. I instantly felt a pang of guilt at how freely I was taking the situation. I guess, when you've lived your entire life with threats and danger, it doesn't affect you in the same way it affects others. Still, Jack and Toshiko could have been in real trouble, and there I was, letting Ianto and Owen make all the decisions.

Immediately I turned back to my computer screen and put my hand to my forehead, running it through my hair, my mind aching as I forced myself to understand the equations and formulas on Toshiko's computer. I began to resent the fact that I hadn't inherited my father's vast amount of knowledge on the subject of numbers. Sighing, I looked up to the ceiling to stretch my neck, then across to Ianto's desk casually.

Ianto and I caught each other's eyes, and he looked away nervously. The pang of guilt returned and I felt my face flush red as I spun back to face my own computer. Amongst all my issues with Jack, I'd completely forgotten that he and Ianto were together. My heart started to beat faster with the shame of what Ianto might have been feeling and thinking when he'd found out about our past.

"Ianto? Alli?" Gwen asked through the earpiece, interrupting my thoughts. "Yeah, it's me. I've found it. It's written in blood."

Right on cue, the klaxon sounded in the Hub and Owen ran in. He dashed up to us and dumped his rucksack on a chair, then joined us by the computers.

"Gwen's found the rest of Tosh's readings." Ianto told him by way of explanation as I positioned myself by the computer, ready to type in the formula.

"What's she got for us?" Owen asked, surprisingly upbeat.

"'Cos sine squared'," Gwen told us carefully over the radio. "'Axcx equals x over 2'."

I waited for more numbers, but they didn't come. I typed them into Tosh's progam anyway, but then shook my head, frowing.

"No," Owen said, voicing my thoughts. "We need at least three more numbers, Gwen. They must be somewhere else."

"No, they're not." came the short answer from Gwen.

"Well, how d'you know?" Owen asked her.

"'Cause somebody scraped out the final numbers." Gwen told us sadly. No one spoke for a moment. "Tosh has written a message at the end." Gwen added quietly. "It says, 'Tell my  
family I love them.'"

There was a short silence before Owen turned and walked over to the Rift Manipulator.

"It still won't work." Ianto dutifully reminded him. "There's a piece missing."

"Bilis had it all along." Owen told us, holding up a small bronze disc and inserting it into the machine carefully.

"We still don't have all the equation." Ianto pointed out, and I turned my focus back to the formulas on the screen.

"Maybe the machine can work it out." Owen suggested, but not leaving it up for discussion. He flicked a few switches and the Manipulator burst into life.

"Owen!" Ianto and I yelled over the racket of the machine, watching intensely. We both sighed with relief as it spluttered and died. Owen sighed too, threw his jacket off, and rushed into Jack's office.

Ianto glanced over his shoulder at me and I rolled my eyes before dashing after him, Ianto just behind me.

"There must be something in the safe." Owen said absent-mindedly, rifling though Jack's desk drawers. "The piece fits. We just need better instructions." His eyes landed on the photo of me and Jack in the 51st Century, but he ignored it.

"You can't open the safe." Ianto told him forcefully. "You've no right."

"I'm second in command." Owen spat. "I have got every fucking right."

"Owen, come on." I said uselessly, not believing he would do anything against Jack's strict orders to 'leave the Rift alone'.

"There's stuff we don't know about." Ianto said. "That's how Jack likes it."

"I won't play with his toys, Ianto!" Owen said angrily, then pulled a small journal from one of the drawers. He flicked through it quickly. "'Rhea Silva, the god of war's missus.'" he read. "And a nine-digit number. Not so clever, Jack."

Owen headed over to the safe and entered the combination from the book. Ianto and I just watched, unable to make ourselves stop him. When it came down to it, I suppose we wanted Jack and Toshiko back just as much as Owen. After a few seconds, Owen began pulling various locked boxes out of the safe, and finally pulled out what he was looking for. He presented them to us proudly.

"Blueprints for the Rift machine."

Ianto's face fell. Clearly, he wasn't on the same wavelength as me, and didn't actually think Owen would find anything to do with the Rift in the safe. This gave Owen the upper hand, and he rushed through the room and over to the workstations before Ianto and I could catch up and fight for the blueprints.

"There's instructions in here." Owen told Ianto simply, stopping in front of Toshiko's computer. "This isn't a random act of madness."

"It's a trap!" he tried to persuade Owen. "Bilis wanted you to find it."

Owen scoffed. "Why?" he asked disbelievingly. I had followed the two of them out, but wasn't sure who to side with. Owen started to leaf through the blueprints, occasionally looking up at the Rift Manipulator.

"To provoke the Rift." Ianto began. "To incite total chaos and destruction. All the reports of the haunted dancehall were anonymous." He grew frustrated when he realised Owen wasn't listening. "What if it was him?" he shouted at Owen. "Please, listen to me!"

Owen stuffed the blueprints back into the folder. "I'm tired of being in awe of the rift. I'm tired of living with Jack's secrets. We don't even know who he is."

"I do." I muttered to myself bitterly, well aware that they wouldn't hear.

"He's our leader." Ianto tried, stepping in the way of the machine.

"Not anymore." Owen replied. "Get out of my way!" He pushed past Ianto and the two men fell to the floor. I jumped back, startled, as they wrestled for the blueprints.

"Ianto!" Owen yelled out with annoyance as the blueprints fell out of his hand. Quick as I could, I dashed forward and grabbed the folder off the floor.

"Ha!" I laughed, admittedly ecstatic that I'd managed to retrieve the information so easily.

Ianto and Owen stood steadily and Owen dashed forward to grab the folder, but I pulled back. "No way." I scoffed, pushing him back.

Owen looked straight into my eyes. "Alli." he said softly, almost pleading with me. I faltered, but didn't ease my grip on the blueprints. "Alli, this is for Jack."

"And Diane." Ianto piped up, wiping his freshly cut lip with his hand. "You have to let her go. Like I did with Lisa."

"Don't compare yourself to me." Owen told him disgustedly. "You're just a tea boy."

"I'm much more than that." Ianto said fimrly. "Jack needs me."

"Yeah, well, believe whatever you wanna believe, but we need him too." Owen retorted, edging forwards to take the blueprints. He looked at me. "And this is the only way we're gonna get him back."

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't construct an argument. He was right. I looked at Ianto, who was frowning at me and shaking his head, but I knew he didn't have any other idea either. I sighed and relucantly handed over the blueprints to Owen. I stepped over to Ianto apologetically.

"He's right." I admitted. "There's no other way." Ianto didn't reply, and the pang of guilt returned once more.

Fresh tears formed in my eyes, but I blinked them away. "I'm sorry, Ianto." I told Ianto truthfully. "I just want Jack back."

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A/N: This episode is taking ages to write. But it'll be finished next chapter. Then we've got the big one. So, review please?


	23. Plasters Over Gaping Wounds

**Disclaimer: I scream, you scream, we all scream for the rights to Doctor bloody Who, but they're not going to give them to us anytime soon, so maybe we should give up.**

A/N: Hey, you got a fast update! Even though only one person reviewed. -glares-

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**Plasters Over Gaping Wounds**

Ianto glared at me. I looked away guiltily, and glanced back at Owen, who was flicking through the blueprints again, the small metal disc in his hand.

"Alli, gimme a hand with all these numbers, would you?" he asked, not even looking up. I glanced at Ianto weakly, and walked briskly over to Owen, feeling my friend's eyes on my back.

I began to explain the formulas and equations to him, glad to finally be of use. After a few minutes, when we were absorbed in the functioning of the Rift Manipulator, Owen knew what to do. He reached over to the machine with the disc.

"Put down the key."

We both spun around to see Ianto, holding a gun out at arms length, pointing at Owen.

"Or I'll shoot." he spat. I froze, but Owen continued to move, reaching slowly across to insert the disc into the machinery. Ianto flicked the safety switch off warningly, and Owen hesitated.

"That Rift took my lover and my captain." he said calmly. "So if I die trying to beat it, then it will all be in the line of duty." He leant forwards to slip the disc into the Rift Manipulator, and the shot was fired. Owen fell, clutching at his arm, and I shrieked and rushed to his side. His shoulder bled heavily, and he flinched when I approached him.

"Ianto!" I cried, horror-struck. Owen managed to jam the disc into its slot, and the machine started up as he pressed a few buttons on the side.

I backed away as the column began to move, and Ianto grabbed my arm to pull me to safety, in fear of the Rift.

"You don't know what you've done!" he shouted to Owen, who was lying on the floor, looking up at the machine, pleading with it to return his lover to him. I stared up at it too, biting my lip, hoping nothing bad would come of our actions and wondering whether I'd done the right thing.

Nothing came through on the comms. The Rift Manipulator started to wheeze, shaking almost rythmically. When it died down after a few minutes, we got to work on Owen's arm.

All that was left to do was wait, and hope.

- - - - - - -

"I knew we did the right thing, opening the Rift." Owen muttered a few hours later. I glanced up from the computer desk where I was sat, staring at the screen uselessly.

Jack and Toshiko had returned, with Gwen, and Toshiko was helping Owen to bandage his arm. I couldn't help the pang of guilt from returning as I looked absent-mindedly at the readings from the Rift monitoring program. The Rift activity levels had increased by 300 percent since Owen had activated it.

"Still no sign of Bilis." Ianto replied, casually reminding us of the dangers to come.

"World didn't end after all, did it?" Owen retorted. "Good job you're a crap shot."

"I was aiming for your shoulder."

At that point, Jack walked in, and the bickering stopped. He and Toshiko went into his office, and Gwen, Owen, Ianto and I were left to talk amongst ourselves. I didn't mention the Rift readings.

- - - - - - -

"Alli?" I heard Jack's voice as he opened the door to his office (aka my temporary bedroom) that night. I turned around abruptly.

"Yeah?" I replied casually, and he wandered in slowly. There was an awkward silence, and I felt my face grow pink with embarrassment. Why I was embarrassed, I have no idea. But Jack and I hadn't spoken much since I found out about him being... well, _my_ Jack. "Uh..." I began, hoping he'd say whatever he wanted and leave.

He breathed in and out slowly. "Good work today."

My face suddenly lightened and I felt the weight lift. I attempted a smile. "Thanks." He didn't move. "Was there... something else?" I tried.

"What was the first thing I told you when I gave you the place at Torchwood?" he asked.

"Uh..." I racked my brain. "Don't kiss Owen?" I tried, and Jack laughed, though it seemed slightly forced.

"Okay, the second thing." he said.

I swallowed. "Don't mess with the Rift." I told him guiltily. "I'm sorry. I just - I wanted you back." I felt my eyes well up as I said it, and cursed myself for it mentally.

Jack stepped closer. He sighed. "Alli, you know that you and I can - well, we can't go back. To how it was before."

"I know." I said quickly, ignoring anything telling me otherwise in my mind. "You wouldn't want to anyway." I muttered under my breath. Jack sat next to me on the bed.

"You look so much like your mother." he told me fondly, and I couldn't help but be slightly grossed out by the fact that Jack may have had a crush on Rose. "But you have the Doctor's eyes. Is that even possible?" I could see where he was coming from, but I didn't answer.

"Jack," I began uncertainly. "When you met the Doctor and Rose... did you know they were my parents?"

"No." he replied shortly. "The Doctor was a different... version. And I'd only met Rose twice, remember? But I always thought there was something familiar, mother-like about her. That's one of the things that stopped me trying anything, along with the Doctor. Though the whole rebel con-man image when I first met her wasn't completely an act."

I looked up at him, suppressing a smile, and he looked down into my eyes with what I could only describe as a longing for what was. For a very short moment, I thought he was going to kiss me (and personally, I don't think I'd have resisted), but then he put his arm around me (slightly stiffly), and placed his lips on my forehead for a second, then pulled away.

"Are we going to tell them?" I asked suddenly. "When we - or I - see them again, should I tell them who you are? Or will that freak them out?"

Jack shrugged. "Up to you. Not my problem."

So I had to make another decision. Great.

And I couldn't help but wonder if Jack was being himself. He seemed to have gotten over the whole thing, but it seemed too forced. Or maybe I just don't know Jack as well as I think.

- - - - - - -

"There's speculation that the incidents overnight may be linked." the news reporter stated professionally as images flashed up on the screen. "Initial reports suggested terrorist involvement. But this morning, some intelligence experts have claimed the incidents may be a stunt. The first sightings were of UFOs over the Taj Mahal in India. They came in just after midnight."

I glanced across the room at Jack, but his, Ianto's, Toshiko's and Owen's eyes were glued to the screen.

"In London this morning, there were ports of men in historic dress firing upon police. Some religious groups are claiming that events overnight are a vindication of their teachings."

As the news channel switched to discussing weather or cornflakes or something, we all turned to look at Jack.

- - - - - - -

A few hours later, after a few depressing Bible readings from Ianto about the 'End of Days', the entire team was sat in the conference room, with Toshiko stood at the front by the plasma screen.

"I've run a profile on every reported temporal anomaly and tracked any physical or temporal pattern." she told us, and a map of the world appeared on the screen. Red lines and dots were spread out across it, most of them linking back to Cardiff.

Gwen swore loudly, Ianto gaped at the screen, Owen's eyes widened, and I swallowed nervously. Jack was the only person that seemed unfazed.

"The cracks in time trace back here to the Rift." he told us. "This city - this Hub - is the centre. What you're seeing around the world are ripples and aftershocks." he turned to look at Owen. "The Rift is splintering because of you. "

Owen raised his eyebrows disbelievingly. "What?"

"You opened the Rift without knowing what you were doing." Jack said angrily. "You've caused the temporal cracks to widen. Time is seeping through."

"If it wasn't for me, you two would still be in the 1940s." Owen reminded him. "So are we going to sit around crying into our lattés, or shall we do something about it?"

"Bring those who've fallen through time back here, into the vaults." Jack told us sternly.

"And do what with them?" Owen asked.

"We'll deal with phase one first, then I'll tell you about phase two." Jack said, fairly convincingly.

"You can't control time." Owen said sardonically. "You can't send them back! What are you gonna do?"

"We'll think of something!" Jack yelled back. We all hesitated before looking up at him skeptically. He caught my eye and I looked away nervously. The rest of the team were also looking fairly afraid of what was to come. "Hey," he began softly. "This is _not_ the end of the World. I'm certain of that."

Owen and Toshiko left to go to the hospital, where mortality rates had risen too much for them to handle, and told us there had been an outbreak of the Plague. Gwen and Jack went to the police station, and brought back a roman soldier. Ianto went out and came back with more Weevils. The situation was getting out of control.

But, while they were all out, I decided to do something useful. With only 4 days left until I was to be whisked away by my parents, I decided I needed to help put right what was (sort of) my fault.

And I would have done, I really would have sorted out the Rift. I tried, anyway. But then the whole team just barged in, intruding my investigation with their yelling.

Then something shocking happened. Something truly, terribly shocking. Owen was yelling at Jack for being a rubbish leader (which, to be fair to Owen, he kind of was), and Jack fired him. Yes. _Fired_ him.

So, at the (possible) end of the World, did Torchwood stick together? Did Torchwood look out for each other and protect the World as a team?

No.

Torchwood lost someone. And it hadn't even begun.

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A/N: Aww, sad.

So, we're nearing the end of series one!! Review?


	24. Visions Hurt

**Disclaimer: I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really don't. And neither do you.**

A/N: OMG It's another chapter!  
I'm not hyper. -shifty eyes-

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**Visions Hurt**

So, Torchwood (minus one) was left to save the World. There's a surprise.

We didn't know what UNIT were up to, since they refused to tell us anything (they seemed to believe they were above us), and the government weren't really doing a lot, since they were too caught up in the elections and so on. Do you think that if I had just told them Saxon's party would win, they might have given us a hand?

It was quite typical though. Typical that with only four days to go (maybe), something this huge would come up and give me something else to worry about.

- - - - - - -

I went down to the Torchwood archives to do some research and find out if Torchwood has ever encountered something like this before (they haven't) and had the most terrifying experience since arriving in Cardiff. I was just looking through the files casually, when I heard something move behind me. A shadow passed over the wall, and I spun around on my heels.

There, many metres in front of me, his face glowing in the dim light of the bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling, was the Doctor. I gasped abruptly and dropped the folder I was holding to the floor.

"Doctor?" I asked, as the Doctor stood silent against the far wall, his face solemn and his eyes hollow.

"Alli." he said hoarsely, his eyes showing only bitter sadness. "You've got to help me."

"H-How are you here?" I asked cautiously, making my way towards him, afraid that he wasn't real.

"Alli, please help me." His crying voice made me cringe with sadness and confusion.

"Where's Rose?" I tried. He looked up, right into my eyes, and a single tear slid down his cheek. I bit my lip as I walked closer, speeding up. My voice echoed off the walls along with my footsteps.

"Alli, she's gone." he whispered. I heard my heart pound against my chest as my arms fell limp to my side. My mouth dried out and I couldn't fathom any words. "Alli, I lost her," he rambled, "It was all in the Battle, you have to help me, please help me, do it Alli, please." he whimpered, and I rushed forward, never having seen the Doctor in such a state, and not believing it could be him, or that he could be telling the truth.

"How?" I yelled as I ran to him.

"Open the Rift." he said softly, though his voice sounded louder than ever before, and I sprinted to the wall; I was just metres away from him, then steps, then inches... I thrust my arms out in front of me, ready to wrap my arms around him, and I closed my eyes as my heart pounded faster against my ribs.

"Alli!"

I opened my eyes as my hands hit solid rock, a stinging pain rushing up my arms. My face fell. The Doctor was gone. I looked to my left, where a beam of light was being thrown down upon me, and saw Jack standing up the few stone steps, holding open the door.

I looked ahead to where I was clutching at the stone wall, where moments ago my father had stood, crying for Rose, and then looked back at Jack.

"Find anything?" he asked.

I let my arms drop to the side as I looked back to the spot the Doctor had occupied. A look of confusion passed over my face as I studied the area, my chest rising and falling rapidly. "No."

- - - - - - -

Jack and Gwen went to find Bilis Manger, in the hope that he knew _something _about why the Rift was acting up, or how to stop it. As it happened, Bilis Manger was some kind of Time Traveller, and could move from one time to another in a matter of seconds. Incredible. At least, that's what I would have been thinking, if my mind had been able to summon that much intelligence.

He told Jack and Gwen that in order to stop the Rift activity, we had to fully open it. Jack refused, of course, and told us to do a scan for temporal Rift activity around the area they had found Bilis. It was quite impressive; Bilis must have travelled through Time on a regular basis.

- - - - - - -

Bilis kept travelling through Time. At least, that's what I assumed the readings meant. My mind had been absent ever the since the incident in the archives. The Rift activity readings were going crazy, particularly the temporal activity near Bilis' location. I wondered what he was up to.

I also managed to think of something else. In the archives, before, the Doctor had said he lost Rose "in the battle". Now, whether he was real or not, and whether Rose really was "lost" or not (God forbid), this Battle kept coming up. I decided to ask Jack about it at the first chance I got - probably something I should have done on day one.

Gwen brought her boyfriend, Rhys, to Torchwood (unconscious) and locked him in a cell. I secretly decided I may have to return to my calling her 'crazy lady' because of this. We were being made to use one of the Rift checking computer monitors to check on him. But what worried me more was that Gwen told us why she had brought him there - Bilis told her - or showed her - the future, which apparently led to Rhys' death. I noticed Toshiko and Ianto go strangely quiet when she mentioned this 'vision', but my thoughts were interrupted by the klaxon sounding loudly and disturbing our conversation.

We had a security breach. Bilis got in. Despite Jack's instructions not to panic, crazy lady jumped around and headed towards the cells, yelling "RHYS!" at the top of her voice, with Jack just behind her. I headed over to the workstations with Toshiko to find the source of the breach, which was, indeed, the cells.

Moments later, the flashing lights and piercing alarm ended abruptly. We heard screaming coming from the cells, and I exchanged nervous glances with Toshiko and Ianto before moving towards the source of the noise.

Minutes after that found the Torchwood team (minus Owen, of course) in the autopsy bay. Rhys had been murdered.

We all gave our condolences to Gwen, but she was right - Torchwood has no idea about life on the outside. About love, or family, or true happiness. Gwen exploded at Jack, ordering him to do something, and then we were blessed with a miracle.

Owen walked through the door.

How did he get in?

Well, Gwen pushed him away, he yelled at Jack, and then claimed he was "opening the Rift." I looked up, shocked, but Jack didn't move, his eyes on Gwen, who had returned to Rhys' side.

Ianto made his way up the steps after Owen. "Make sure you stop him." Jack told him, but Ianto stood strong.

"No." he replied firmly, and continued up after Owen. I looked up to Ianto, my mind whirling, and I saw Toshiko rise up the steps after them.

"We're going to help him." she told Jack.

Gwen rose too. She left Rhys on the table and headed past Jack, stopping briefly before him.

"Bilis was right, he said open the rift and everything goes back to normal." she explained to Jack. "Owen's right. I'm going to get Rhys back."

"Gwen." Jack cautioned, but she carried on quickly up the stairs.

"No!" she refused Jack's unspoken word, not even looking back.

"Gwen!" Jack shouted after her, walking towards the staircase as she ran up them and out of the room. He stopped short at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face me. I felt my face redden.

What if the Doctor was right? If that was the Doctor in the archives before, and Rose really was in trouble, I couldn't very well let her die. Then again, what if it really was a trick? It could end the world...

I made my decision. Rose was worth more.

I shook my head to Jack.

"I'm sorry." I apologised to him, my voice shaking as I rushed up the stairs past him.

"Alli!" he called after me disbelievingly, catching my arm in the entrance to the workstation room. My eyes began to water.

"Jack -" I began, unable to find the words.

"Whatever's happened, whatever you've heard, don't believe it." Jack tried to convince me, pleading with me to believe him. Just the sound of his voice was almost enough to persuade me, but I stayed strong. I felt the tears in my eyes as I shook my head. I pulled away reluctantly.

"I'm sorry, Jack." I repeated helplessly. "I don't know what - I can't think. I - I've just got to. I'm sorry."

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A/N: Well, we're close to the end, so leave a review. Please.


	25. Mistakes

**Disclaimer: Don't worry, it's on my Christmas list.**

A/N: Erm, not much to say here. Enjoy.

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**Mistakes**

"Enter Emergency Protocol One." Owen said as he typed into the computer controlling the Rift manipulating programme. Gwen pushed him out of the way.

"Out of the way; I'll do this." she insisted, typing faster into the machine.

I stood back from the rest, unsure of my position, although the image of the Doctor, crumpled against the wall, helpless, was imprinted in my mind. I closed my eyes, but the image remained, never fading.

An alarm sounded and I looked up at Gwen, who was typing furiously at the keyboard. I heard footsteps behind me and spun around to see Jack standing there.

"Get away from the computer, Gwen." he said calmly, and Owen turned around and stepped protectively in front of Gwen.

"This is a trap." he warned us. "All these cracks around the world, they're diversions. This is what Bilis wants."

"What are you afraid of, Jack?" Owen challenged him, and I looked up at Jack, finding myself wanting to know the answer too. Jack didn't answer though, just raised his arm. I looked down to see a gun held firmly in his hand, pointing straight at Gwen, ready to fire. I stumbled back a step.

Ianto and Gwen, seemingly oblivious to Jack's weapon, continued to type in the security details.

"I said move." Jack said firmly.

Toshiko turned around from the computer desk. "What the hell are you doing?!" she exclaimed with horror. Gwen and Ianto turned around too.

"Jack?" I breathed in horror, afraid of the sudden change in personality. I wanted back the Jack I used to know, the one with a different name. But he was gone forever, it seemed.

"Final warning." he told us. Gwen walked slowly towards him.

"Come on, Jack." she said softly, as if thinking that would change his mind.

"Oh, you're a united front now?" Jack smirked, looking from Toshiko and Ianto and Gwen to Owen, then to me, with his piercing eyes that made me want to give up immediately. "Toshiko, the poor girl who'll screw any passing alien that gives her a pendant? Owen, so strong he gets in a cage with a Weevil, desperate to be mauled. Or Ianto, hiding his cyber-girlfriend in the basement. Your three comrades here pumped bullets into her, remember?"

The four of them glared at Jack, and I prayed he wouldn't mention me. But of course, he turned to me next. "And Alli," he began harshly, speaking with venom, and using up all his unspoken anger. The sight shocked me; I had never seen Jack so violent. "The poor little girl who was whisked away from her true love at sixteen." My face began to burn as I listened to the harsh words. "Acting so grown up; pretending that she cares. But we all know she just wants her daddy to take her away from all the danger again. And who's cares about those that get left behind?"

I froze, the heat rushing through my veins at the sudden uncharacteristic anger from Jack as my blood boiled with rage. I didn't reply, but Gwen spoke first anyway.

"I've got to get Rhys back." she stated. Jack turned to her, drunk on his rage.

"Yeah, 'cause you're so in love with Rhys that you spend half your time in Owen's bed." he snarled.

Gwen exploded (and quite rightfully, so this time I won't be calling her crazy). She leapt forward - and I jumped to the side - and punched Jack square in the jaw.

"Fuck you!" she yelled madly as Jack fell, the gun slipping out of his hand. I reached forward and grabbed it, pointing it at Jack out of the pure humiliation and hate I felt from what he had said to me.

"Stay down!" I shouted at him as he tried to move. "Don't you dare think I won't, Jack fucking Harkness." I yelled, fuming. "Here's to that 'poor little girl'. Could you ever imagine her doing this?!"

Jack looked up at me from the floor, a sly grin appearing on his face. "You won't." he said confidently, wiping at his cut lip.

I blinked twice. "Oh, I would." I assured him, gritting my teeth. He laughed coldly and sat up. My fist clenched around the gun but I knew in my heart he was right.

"See?" Jack stood up. "That's the difference between you and Torchwood."

A gun's safety catch was clicked, but not mine. I looked to my side to see Owen raising his own gun and pointing it at Jack. Jack looked his way too.

"You're in charge, Owen?" he asked sardonically. "You've gotta have significantly bigger balls."

Owen didn't reply. His eyes darkened and his hand tightened around the gun.

The shot echoed around the room as Jack fell to the floor.

The next couple of seconds was a blur. My stomach lurched as Jack fell backwards onto the floor, blood already seeping quickly from the wound in his forehead. Owen fired again, and again, and again, into Jack's still body. Gwen screamed, and I fell to Jack's side with a gasp of pain for him. Ianto rushed over to his lover, and Toshiko let out a startled gasp.

"I'm sick of people doubting me." Owen spat, as Gwen took his gun away. I picked up Jack's still, lifeless hand from the floor with an open mouth. It was already growing cold.

"What have you done?" Ianto asked breathlessly, kneeling down by Jack's head with his hand covering his mouth.

My throat was dry, almost as if all the breath had been ripped from the lungs, and my heart beat rapidly against my chest, reminding me this was not a dream.

"N-No, it's okay." I stuttered, my heart racing and my head pounding as I tried to convince myself of the lie. "He can't die." I muttered to myself, cradling his cold hand in mine. "He - he's got to be okay. He can't die; he's got to come back. He will, of course he will."

"Alli..." Toshiko said softly from behind me. I blinked, vaguely aware of the tears in my eyes, and looked up at Gwen, who was standing over Jack, looking horrified. Owen was shaking, horrified by what he'd done, while Ianto was knelt by Jack's body. Clearly, none of them knew that Jack could survive death.

And he _would_ survive. I was determined not to let him go.

"Alli, Ianto." Toshiko repeated, trying to pull me away. "He's gone."

"We can't waste time mourning him." Gwen said shakily, her eyes transfixed on Jack. "We can do that later."

I looked back down to Jack's face. Why wasn't he waking up?! I tapped his cheek lightly.

"C'mon." I said, leaning forward to check his pulse. Nothing. "Come on, Jack. Wake up." I checked his pupils. I listened to his chest. I squeezed his finger. No response. As the minutes dragged on, and the rest of the team worked silently on the Rift programme, I remained by Jack's side, pleading with him to awaken.

More tears slid down my cheeks. My forehead creased in determination and confusion as the team continued to work behind me. He couldn't die; not now, when he hadn't forgiven me.

I told myself he'd wake up any minute. I said he'd be okay, that he'd survive.

So why did it seem so hard to believe?

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A/N: They left out a bit in the episode, so I saw an opportunity. Review?


	26. The Great Devourer

**Disclaimer: Sorry, but no. I hope the chapter is less of a disappointment.**

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, I hope you all enjoy it! Happy Christmas!!

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**The Great Devourer**

Owen, Gwen, Toshiko and Ianto scanned their retina prints into the computer. I had not been an employee for long enough to have that importance, it seems. Owen scanned Jack's into the computer.

There were still fresh tears on my cheeks, but we had a new problem to deal with. Gwen and Owen completed the programme's authorisation. Gwen's hand hovered on the return key as she was about to authorise the programme. She looked around the team for help, but no one seemed able to give her an answer. She pressed the button.

The Rift became active. The klaxon blared out, along with another alarm signalling the dangerous levels of Rift activity that were steadily increasing.

I was no longer sat by Jack's side, and I rushed over to the computer showing the Rift spikes over the world. I crossed my fingers, though knowing how useless it was, and prayed for the spikes to stop. Instead, they grew bigger and bigger, forcing the whole world into splodges of red, all linking back to Cardiff.

I glanced to Owen, Toshiko, Ianto and Gwen, who were wearing the same expression of worry as me. We heard the Weevils down in the cells crying out, and the yells of all our prisoners, then another sound mixed in. A faint gasp came from beneath us, a short intake of air, then a splutter, followed by a shriek from Gwen. My eyes widened as I looked down to see Jack, clinging to Gwen's leg for his life.

"Jack!" I gasped, falling down beside him, and the rest of the team looked down in horror.

"Oh, my God!" Owen gasped, shocked at the sight. I tried to help Jack up, but he pushed me away to see the devastation in the Hub. I stood up and backed away reluctantly as the lights began to flicker.

He looked angrily at Owen, though his pale skin showed the weaknesses of immortality. "What have you done?"

The computers behind us began to fizz and hiss, and we all looked up to see a pulse of electricity rush through the wires and zoom fiercely up the water tower. The ground shook violently beneath us.

"Come on." Gwen said firmly, and walked over to help Jack up. I went to take his other arm, but Ianto beat me to it, and together he and Gwen carried Jack along with Toshiko, Owen and me.

We made our way through the hub as the building began to shake. The glass in the doors shattered around us from the tremble, and we hurried through the place, searching for somewhere to hide. The lights flickered on and off as the electrical current ran through the building.

We headed towards the doors as the walls began to shake harder, though the flickering lights and clouds of smoke made it almost impossible to see. I tripped over random objects scattered on the floor by the earthquake-like tremble, but still we ran through the building.

"Move, move, move!" someone yelled as I fell again.

"Come on!"

"Go!"

"Help me!"

"MOVE!"

- - - - - - -

We emerged from the building seconds later, and I ran alongside Gwen and Ianto as they held Jack upright, just behind Toshiko and Owen.

"Keep moving!" Owen yelled back as we walked through an alley, and our pace quickened as much as Jack's legs would allow him to stagger.

"It's going to be all right, Jack." Gwen said in that strangely psychiatrist-like way. "Everything is going to go back to normal."

Pfft. There was no way Jack would believe that.

Jack and Toshiko halted suddenly at the end of the alley. Gwen let go of Jack, and I rushed to his side to take her place by Jack as she walked forwards. Bilis was stood in front of us. The wind instantly seemed to die down, as if waiting for the man to speak.

"From out of the darkness, he is come." he said simply, his voice soft but eerily distant.

"What is he talking about?" Gwen asked us, not taking her eyes off Bilis.

"Son of the Great Beast, cast out before time." he informed us, revelling in his words. "Chained in rock and imprisoned beneath the rift."

"What?!" Gwen exclaimed in disbelief. Bilis simply looked up into the sky. We all slowly mirrored his action and looked into the sky. The air was filled with gasps of shock.

"All hail Abaddon, the Great Devourer." Bilis spoke with pride.

A monster stood above the world, obscured by the mist and fog. All that could be made out was his skeletal figure and large rounded horns. He roared loudly as he stepped carelessly closer to Cardiff. Ianto stumbled back, but I was frozen to the spot.

"Come to feast on life."

Car alarms blared in the distance as the beast stepped towards the city of Cardiff, the earth beneath us shuddering with his every movement. Piercing screams could be heard, even from so far away.

"The whole world shall die beneath his shadow." Bilis spoke, and I turned around to face him, my mind trying to unpick what he meant. Bilis continued to stare up almost fondly at the beast above us.

"I look upon you, my God, and know my work is done." he said proudly, and then disappeared.

After a moment of silence, Gwen, Owen and Toshiko turned back to look at Jack. He looked back at them, his face showing no emotion to any of us.

"How do we stop it?" Gwen asked him finally. "Tell me what to do, Jack."

Jack looked around again at all of us, still not giving anything away. His gaze fell on me, last, for only a second, before he turned back to face Gwen.

"Just you." he said, and I opened my mouth to protest but thought better of it. "Get me to an open space."

He began to pull away from me and Ianto, and I reluctantly let go of him so that Gwen could slide under his arm for support. We watched as they walked away.

They left in the SUV, and the rest of us ran back to the Hub, as the earthquake apperead to have stopped. I didn't say a word, and neither did anyone else.

- - - - - - -

Back at the Hub, the damage was not as bad as we'd anticipated. We all sat in silence, trying to find things to do that would take our minds of Jack and Gwen.

After what could have been hours of agonising silence and worry, which I had spent reorganising my computer system to attempt to keep my mind off Jack, Gwen spoke to us through the comms.

I'll never forget that moment. Just one sobs, then two words. Two words that sent my heart crashing down to the pit of my stomach with no hope of return.

"He's gone."

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A/N: Near the end of the episode now! Review!


	27. The End of Days

**Disclaimer: Christmas came and went, and all we got was the Christmas Special. No ownership rights yet. Sorry.**

A/N: -crosses fingers- Okay, it's the End of Days. Enjoy...

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**The End of Days**

In what seemed like no time at all, we were all stood around Jack's body in the morgue. They didn't listen to my arguments; they didn't believe he would survive. Ianto held me close to him as I wept, staring at Jack's cold, lifeless body for the last time.

Gwen approached us. She gazed down upon Jack's ghostly pale skin with no hint of sorrow.

"You're certain?" she asked quietly, not looking away form Jack's body.

"He's ice cold." Owen replied, and the sound seemed to echo in my mind along with my quiet sobs. I cursed myself for it, and told myself not to be such a child, but couldn't bring myself to stop. "No vital signs."

"It doesn't matter!" I cried, repeating myself once more. "He's got to survive." I whispered, but Owen didn't answer.

"He survived when you shot him." Gwen reasoned. "When I first joined, he said he couldn't die."

"He was wrong." Owen breathed.

"I want to sit with him." Gwen told us, never looking away from Jack.

"Gwen -" Owen sighed, but Gwen didn't let him finish.

"I want to sit with him." she said more firmly, stroking his cheek with the back of her hand. Owen nodded, resigned, and walked away. Toshiko followed, and Ianto soon pulled away from me and walked after them.

I let out a loud whimper and flattened myself against the wall of morgue cabinets. Gwen didn't respond as I slid over to Jack's side and touched his hand gently. I pulled away almost instantly, it all being too much for me too register. I sank in to the corner of the cabinet wall and buried my head in my hands.

And then we waited. Minutes passed, hours, and still Jack did not awaken.

When my cheeks were only wet from old tears, I stood up. Where had so many tears gone? I went to Jack's side, only to find him in the same state as he had been all those hours ago. What had I expected would happen?

Chairs were brought in, though I'm not sure when, and Gwen and I sat at Jack's side in silence, both truly believing he would come back.

After days had passed, when I couldn't take it any longer, I left. My tears returned as I walked away. Nobody spoke to me as I left the room, and nobody entered Jack's office after I went in.

I noticed Jack's coat was gone. The rest of the room was just a blur in my mind.

- - - - - - -

Days later, I hadn't moved from the room. Gwen, as far as I knew, was still in the morgue with Jack. I could always hear the voices of the rest of the team downstairs, but never did I register what they were saying.

Time passed me by, not waiting for me, and never stopping. The Doctor and Rose had left my thoughts many days ago, and whether I had missed them or not, nothing seemed to matter any longer.

I was lying, sprawled in the middle of the room, surrounded by pictures of Jack, of Jack and me, of Jack and the Doctor and Rose, of Jack with complete strangers to me. I had scattered them all around my body, in the hope I could feel him with me once more.

It was when I had stopped crying that I heard it. Just three words that brought my heart right up into my throat.

"I forgive you."

But it wasn't the words that elated me, causing me to sit bolt upright on the floor. It was the voice. I ran to the door and threw it open, surprised at my own force, and gazed out upon the Hub. Owen was released, sobbing, from Jack's arms. I didn't smile, I didn't scream. I ran down the stairs without realising what I was doing, and threw myself into Jack's arms. I heard my sobs louder in the massive room, but had no thoughts for them any more.

I never wanted to let go of Jack, but the time soon came when I had to. My pale face was damp with my tears, but Jack smiled as he wiped them away with his thumb. Then, for the first time in Goodness knows how long, I smiled.

- - - - - - -

"So, you had a tidy up." I said lightly as I entered Jack's office the next day. The photos that I had strewn across the floor were all back in the correct places on Jack's shelves.

Jack smiled, but didn't answer.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out. Jack paused.

"I forgive you." he said softly as he stood up and walked over to me.

"Listen, Jack," I began, tracing my finger along the pattern of the wood on the desk as I spoke. "I just thought you should know... the Doctor and Rose are late." I said feebly. I'd finally worked out the dates. "I-I don't know whether they're coming at all. But I'm leaving. Soon."

Jack didn't reply instantly, and I looked up to see a frown playing on his face.

"Okay." he said slowly. There was a short, awkward silence.

"I still love you." I suddenly told him, my emotions getting the better of me. He looked me in the eye, showing no embarrassment, although I was. I could feel my cheeks burning up as I spoke. "I... I want you back. And that can't happen, so I'm leaving. I've even packed, ready."

I indicated my head towards the suitcase on my bed. Jack let out a light chuckle. "You're not." he said simply.

"I am." I contradicted him. He reached down and took my hand.

"Alli," he began softly. "If I could have my life back, in the 51st Century, with you, and Gray, I would."

I looked up at him, surprised. Not knowing what to say, I stared at his dark brown eyes, as if searching for an answer in them, though I didn't know the question.

We stood, staring into each others yes, for just a moment. Then, without any hesitation, Jack moved smoothly forward, and before I could realise what was happening, his lips were on mine. The contact made my senses tingle, and I sank into the kiss, placing my hands on his hips as his rested on my back. I wasn't sure what I was doing. Was this right? Should I stop? Am I doing the right thing?

I knew it would only be this one kiss. I knew I wasn't leaving, but that things wouldn't go back. I knew this was wrong, and that he wouldn't mention after.

But as his mouth opened ever so slightly and his tongue slid gently into my mouth, all of the memories of my past life with Jack came flooding back into my head, and I realised that I didn't care for the answers to those questions, and I didn't care what I knew.

I might as well have been standing on the beach in the 51st Century with my ex-fiancé.

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A/N: Okay, it's _so_ important that I get your opinions on this, so please, please, please review.


	28. New Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I'm just about to reach another level of non-ownership-ness. Be nice.**

A/N: Quite short, but I wanted to leave it like this so I could start the next bit properly. Enjoy!

* * *

**New Beginnings**

It was just luck that I heard it. If I hadn't turned around at that moment to poke Ianto back, I wouldn't even have seen it as it appeared in the distance.

We were on the way back to the Hub, after Gwen had burst into the office - interrupting Jack and I - and convinced me I'd been cooped up inside for too long. Like she hadn't. But Ianto, Toshiko and Owen ended up coming with me, while she stayed with Jack. We were bringing coffee back for everyone (though Heaven knows why, as Ianto's is so much better), now that everything was back to normal. Well, normal for Torchwood.

All I had been able to think of was the kiss. Did it mean anything? I wasn't sure. Would I do it again? Well, yeah.

So anyway, when we rounded a corner and started walking towards the Hub, and I heard this sudden gust of wind pick up, I remembered the date. 28th of July. Now, with all that had been happening recently, I had almost forgotten about the Doctor and Rose, but the sound sparked my memory and everything came rushing back.

At first I thought it was just that, wind, but I needed to be sure.

"You guys go ahead." I told the others, passing the four plastic cups of coffee I was holding to Toshiko before dashing off around the corner with no further explanation.

It was just seconds before the loud wooshing sound began. Another few seconds before the TARDIS began to materialise. Another few before my mouth stretched into a grin and I sprinted towards my home. I thought I heard Jack behind me, and a quick glance behind me proved me right as I saw him in the distance. I wondered how he'd gotten out of the Hub so quickly, but didn't dwell on the thought.

It seemed to take forever for me to reach the blue box. My smile couldn't have been any bigger as my shaking hands pushed open the door, and filled with adrenaline, I rushed up to the console.

"Doctor! Rose!" I called loudly, not even having seen them yet. I looked around at my home in wonder, my heart buzzing with excitement. The Doctor's face, complete with wide, shocked eyes, stared up from behind the console.

"Alli..." he breathed. I ran into his arms, oblivious to his startled expression as his faced paled. He held me in a fatherly hug all the same, but then abruptly guided me away and dashed back to the console, where he glanced once at the screen and pulled down a lever.

"No -" I began, but it was too late. "Jack was outside." I explained, slightly hurt.

The Doctor didn't reply, merely looked slightly confused, but my thoughts cleared suddenly. "Where's Rose?" I asked excitedly, looking around the room. "I've got so much to tell you two; is she in your -"

I cut mid-ramble as my eyes fell on a dark haired, dark skinned woman standing apprehensively behind the console, a few metres away from the Doctor. My mouth remained hanging open, though I had no words.

"Alli," the Doctor said softly, glancing back at the woman then to me. "There's something I - Whoa!" This time the Doctor was cut off, as the TARDIS gave a sudden rumble and jolted to the side. Sparks jumped out from the mechanism. He leapt back to the console screen, lifting his left foot onto the mechanism, supposedly to steady himself, and the woman joined him. I pushed myself up off the floor and ran over to them, not caring for my stupefied expression as I stared at this strange lady in my home.

Where the Hell was Rose?

"What was that?" the woman asked the Doctor, seemingly angry about the abrupt take off, which annoyed me. That was my job.

"We're accelerating." the Doctor supplied for her, though it was more of a question. "Into the future!" he confirmed as he read the Gallifreyan writing on the screen. "The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. Fifty trillion. What?" His eyes, and mine, grew wide with amazement as we both studied the screen. "The year one hundred trillion! That's impossible!"

"Why?" the woman asked. "What happens then?" I looked to the Doctor as well, not knowing the answer to this specific question, and feeling particularly vulnerable because of it. That curiosity was the only thing that restrained me from asking again where Rose was.

The Doctor stood up slowly, staring straight ahead at the door. "We're going to the end of the Universe."

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A/N: So, what do you think?


	29. Truths

**Disclaimer: You all get cookies if you don't make me say it again.**

A/N: So, Matt Smith. Anyone know anything about him? Is he any good? And PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTE.

It's been brought to my attention that I have written Jackie living in the Powell Estate until 2022, which many of you will realise is incorrect, as she was taken to the Parallel World during the Battle of Canary Wharf, and so disappeared in 2006. And, while I have my explanation of this, I never wrote it down for you.  
Basically, in this AU version of the show, Jackie stayed behind on 'our' Earth, as she wasn't 'infected' with Void Stuff and had no reason to leave. This is important later, and there will probably be a better explanation then, but I hope this suffices for now. Thank you rosemariontyler08 for pointing this out.

* * *

**Truths**

The TARDIS shuddered one final time before landing with a loud thump, sending me flying to the floor again. I stood up again immediately, my eyes refocusing on the woman standing at the Doctor's side.

"Where's Rose?" I demanded as the Doctor stood up straight.

"We've landed." he said in astonishment.

"Doctor!" I snapped angrily. He turned his focus to me.

"Sorry. Right. Alli." he said slowly, looking just over my left shoulder instead of at my face. He swallowed anxiously, and I felt my rage fizz into worry.

He didn't speak. "Rose." I prompted him.

"She's gone." he said - surprisingly calmly.

...What?

I waited for the words to sink in.

"This is Martha." he continued, his voice sounding strained.

What?!

I blinked stupidly, shocked at how casual he sounded.

"Hi." the girl said timidly.

WHAT?!

I looked from the Doctor to her, then back across to the Doctor. I couldn't bring myself to speak. This couldn't be real.

"Martha, could you give us a moment?" I heard the Doctor ask as everything turned blurry.

The next thing I knew, I was sat on the yellow seat by the console, with my head resting in my hands and my elbows digging into my legs. The Doctor placed a hand on my shoulder.

I looked up slowly. "She's gone." I repeated quietly, a question more than a statement.

The Doctor nodded slowly, the pain showing clearly on his face. He sighed deeply. "I lost her." he whispered.

"B-But she can't be..." I denied, my heart shattering as I realised I was wrong. The Doctor wouldn't lie, not about this. "How?" I breathed, still disbelieving. I half expected Rose to walk through the TARDIS doors that very instant, shouting "Surprise!" at the top of her voice.

"There was a battle a while ago. In 2006. It's a long story..."

If he was still explaining where Rose was, I had stopped listening. I could hear only my heartbeat, thumping through my veins and clouding my mind as I tried to think straight. The Battle. The Battle had taken my mother - that was the reason for Jack avoiding the subject, why everyone was told not to speak of it. Why Sarah Jane changed the subject whenever I asked.

Rose was gone. Just like in the vision, Rose was gone. Opening the Rift hadn't helped. She was lost, forever.

"...still alive, just trapped there." I heard the Doctor say moments later, and my head snapped back up for our eyes to meet.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Rose." the Doctor said softly. "She's still alive, but she's stuck in Pete's World. Remember Pete's World?"

I racked my memory and smiled slightly, then my face fell from the guilt of my happiness. "I was only little." I remembered, focusing on only that memory.

I was just seven or eight, and I was sat on the Doctor and Rose's bed in the morning, cuddled up to them happily. I had asked for them to tell me the furthest place they'd ever been.

"In Space or in Time?" the Doctor had asked, teasing me unashamedly. They had told me both. They'd been to the end of the Earth, and the beginning of the next. But what had really interested me was the furthest they'd been in Space.

"Parallel World?" I'd echoed in amazement when they'd first spoken of it. A World, almost identical to our own, with another Mickey Smith and another Jackie Tyler, and another, living, Peter Tyler. But no Rose. I'd heard many stories about it - this was the place where my always absent 'Uncle Mickey' lived. And now Rose was there too.

"Trapped?" I repeated, my brain not functioning. "As in... trapped?"

"Yes." the Doctor replied simply.

"Forever?"

"Yes."

"Gone."

"Yes."

Neither of us spoke.

I paused. "How long?"

"For who?"

"For you?"

A sigh. "A few years."

"And for me?" I asked the question without realising, then thought of another. "Wait, what actually happened to me?"

My anger suddenly returned as I realised why I wasn't there in the first place. "You _left_ me!" I screeched, suddenly furious.

"Alli, stop." he said quickly, to stop me before my rant began. "You don't understand."

I gaped. "What don't I understand?" I yelled back, standing up. "What, you knew this was going to happen, did you? You abandoned me on purpose? Don't tell me, you did it to "protect me" again?"

The Doctor flinched away from the harsh sarcasm. "Sort of." he admitted. "I had a feeling. I knew something bad would happen. And I knew you'd be safe here. I was going to come back to get you, but then the battle happened, and... I just needed to sort out... me."

My head hurt. "But why did you leave me in 2007? And how did you know something was going to happen? I never get anything like that." I immediately felt jealous of this 'premonition'.

The Doctor paused, deep in thought. "Why _did_ you end up in 2007?" he asked me after a moment. I frowned.

"I don't know!" I said exasperatedly. "Because you _sent_ me here?!" I knew it wasn't true, but my mind still hadn't processed the information that my mother was... lost.

"I sent you to 2007?" the Doctor asked. I studied his expression. "Really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh."

I didn't answer immediately. "Well?!" I demanded.

"Look, Alli." the Doctor began uneasily. "I left you in - what I thought was - the capable hands of Jackie, while Rose and I went to sort out whatever it was that was going to happen. Don't ask me how I know something bad was coming, because I don't know. It wasn't like anything I've felt before, I just... knew. I was always going to go back to 2022 one day to get you, and it would have been just hours after I'd dropped you off there. I just... I couldn't cope with anything like that yet. Martha'll tell you how I've been - a wreck."

My ears pricked up at the mention of the Doctor's latest companion.

"We're just friends." he confirmed to my unasked question. "She's a doctor - a proper doctor. You used to want to be a doctor. Remember?"

I forced away the memories - I was still mad at the Doctor. I couldn't bring myself to speak. I noticed the Doctor glance towards the door.

"You want to go outside, don't you?" I sighed. He suppressed a grin and walked over to me. I found myself enveloped in a bear hug, and then the tears began to flow.

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A/N: Review please? And if you haven't already voted on the poll on my Profile Page, please could you? I'm trying to get 100 voters.


	30. Oh, Look Who It Is

**Disclaimer: Sorry.**

A/N: Wow, slow update. Sorry, school and exams have begun to set in. I'll do my best to hurry up! Enjoy!

* * *

**Oh, Look Who It Is**

Next thing I knew, we were outside. That 'we' being myself, the Doctor, and precious little Miss Martha Jones.

The first thing I saw was Jack. I blinked twice and tried not to laugh.

Martha rushed over to him instantly though. Idiot. "Oh my God!" she gasped, doing her whole doctor ritual. "Can't get a pulse. Hold on - you've got that medical kit thing." She ran back into the TARDIS.

"Jack..." I muttered, and the Doctor and I walked over to him, still practically hugging each other as we walked. I'd missed him too much to let go, and was in fear of bursting into tears if I stood alone for even a second.

"Hello again." the Doctor said casually to Jack, lying on the floor in front of us. "Oh, sorry." he added begrudgingly.

Martha ran back out again and pushed us out of the way. I scowled.

"It's a bit odd, though." she observed. "Not very 100 trillion; that coat's more like World War II."

"I think he came with us." the Doctor informed her casually.

"How d'you mean?" she looked around momentarily. "From Earth?"

"Must've been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS all the way through the vortex." the Doctor told her, a hint of a smile showing through. "Well, that very him."

I snorted, my emotions returning now my mind was working again, though I was still painfully aware of the throbbing in my heart and my dampened cheeks. "You're tellin' me."

Now I just had to wait for the hysterics to return. But one thing I knew for certain - as soon as Jack Harkness woke up, he was getting a punch.

"What? Do you know him?" Martha asked the Doctor.

"Friend of mine." he explained. "Used to travel with me. Back in the old days."

I decided this was not the best time to reveal that I'd been working with him at Torchwood for the past few months. Though it might have given Jack an extra punch (via the Doctor) when he came around...

"But he's - I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat." she told us, with the air of someone who'd delivered the news before. "There's nothing. He's dead."

I sighed. "He'll live. He's been through worse."

Martha looked at me properly now, for the first time since we'd met. "I'm sorry, but he -" She stopped abruptly and screamed as Jack gasped and came back to life behind her, grabbing her arm as he did so. I smirked.

"Oh, well, so much for me." Martha said. "It's all right. Just breathe deep. I've got you now."

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack replied, and I could almost hear his cheesy smile in the shameless flirting. "And who are you?"

"Martha Jones."

"Nice to -"

"Don't start." I warned him, my mind flashing back to the kiss in his office. I had been right, it did mean nothing. To him, at least.

I pushed past Martha to get to Jack, and leaned over him. "You're an idiot." I told him simply, not letting my anger seep through yet.

"Hey, Alli." he said casually as I helped him up. He looked across to the Doctor.

"Doctor." he acknowledged.

"Jack." my father replied.

And so, the mindless banter began. Until...

"The Battle of Canary Wharf." Jack said, sliding a sideways glance to me. I didn't react. "I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

"Oh no! Sorry! She's alive!" the Doctor cried ecstatically.

"You're kidding!"

"Parallel World, safe and sound. And Mickey! And her mother!"

They hugged, but I stayed clear. I thought I heard Martha mutter something under her breath, but didn't quite catch it. I glared anyway.

When the men parted, I walked up to Jack.

"So. This Battle." I began sourly, and Jack looked guilty already.

"I'm sorry. I thought it would be best if you heard it from your father."

I was momentarily speechless. "But you knew all along!" I yelled, then composed myself. I took a deep breath, and clenched my fist at my side. Raising my fist, I aimed it at Jack's face.

Thump.

Ouch.

- - - - - - -

Moments later, with Jack's lip barely bleeding and my hand wrapped in a small white bandage, we discovered an abandoned conglomeration, and joined in a hunt (on the victim's side, of course). We were chased to the 'Silo'. We saw a man reunited with his mother.

We found a rocket. The Doctor almost fell into a pit and died. We met 'the Professor'.

Is it just me, or is this seeming like just another adventure? Already?

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A/N: Review please!


	31. Utopia?

**Disclaimer: Still no.**

A/N: There was a bit of a gap in this scene for Martha, so I gave her something to do. Then that snowballed and I ended up with this.

* * *

**Utopia?**

To be honest, I felt a bit out of place. We were led through the Silo base - basically a refugee area where people were waiting to be taken to 'Utopia' - into this kind of control room. The Professor, along with his insect assistant, Chantho, were trying to fix the rocket so it could fly to Utopia.

Cue the Doctor.

He trailed around the room, studying the controls, while Jack flirted with Chantho, and I followed Martha, hoping to learn more about the Doctor's new friend.

Just when I was getting drawn out of the trance of this adventure, and my hysterics began to return, I was brought swiftly back to the chase by Martha.

"You've got a hand." she said dumbly, pulling the hand-in-a-jar out of Jack's bag. I'd wondered what that was. "A hand in a jar. A hand, in a jar, in your bag." I resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment.

"That-that's my hand!" the Doctor frowned, as everyone else wandered over to where we were stood.

"I said I had a Doctor-detector." Jack explained. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Chan - is this a tradition amongst your people - tho?" asked Chantho (who had to start every sentence with 'Chan' and end every sentence with 'Tho') curiously.

"Not on my street!" Martha denied. "What d'you mean - that's your hand? You've got both your hands, I can see them."

"Long story." the Doctor said. "I lost my hand Christmas Day. In a sword fight."

"Oh yeah." I said softly, remembering the story I'd been told about the Sycorax.

"What, and you grew another hand?" Martha asked sardonically.

"Um, yeah. Yeah I did, yeah. Hello." The Doctor waved at her.

"Might I ask, what species are you?" the Professor asked, and at this point, I tuned out. My thoughts returned once more to Rose, and I couldn't help the gasp that flew out of my mouth as I realised once more that she really was gone.

Gone. Lost. The words didn't seem enough; they were too short, too insignificant to describe the mass of emotions that accompanied them. I turned my back on the group and walked swiftly back out of the room.

When I was outside the control room, away from the rambling explanations from the Doctor, and Jack's endless flirting, I leaned my head back against the cool metal wall and sighed. Then the tears fell again. I pictured Rose's face in my head, closed my eyes, and just imagined her standing there in front of me.

I could never see her again. My own mother, and she was lost. And the Doctor, travelling on his own, would never see her again either. He'd been all alone.

Except he wasn't now. But not because of me. Because he had Martha. And maybe they were just friends, or maybe they were more, but something had stopped him from coming to see me for all that time, and I wanted to know what.

"Trust him." Rose said to me softly, and even though I knew it was just my imagination, it felt real enough to calm me down.

"I do." I whispered back, and she didn't reply.

"You okay?" a woman's voice asked gently, and my eyes flew open. I waited for my vision to unblur, and when it did, I saw Martha stood in front of me, where my comforting image of Rose had just been.

"What?" I asked stupidly, wanting to hate her for stopping the Doctor from seeing me, but not having the strength.

"I'm sorry, about your mum." she offered. It seems that the Doctor had told her all about me.

"Sure." I replied noncommittally, looking away from her face.

"Look, I don't know much about you and Rose, but I know the Doctor loved her. Loves her, I mean." she corrected herself. "He-he still does."

I glared at her. I didn't need her to tell me the Doctor still loved Rose. I knew that. How stupid did she think I was?

She seemed to note my tension and backed away.

"So, it must be pretty cool, hey? Having a Time Lord for a dad?" she joked, in a useless attempt to lighten the situation. I turned to face her again, my expression stupefied.

"I just found out that my mother is stuck in a Parallel World." I told her coldly. "I'm never going to see her again. My father, 'the Time Lord', couldn't find one minute to find me and tell me this. He also may or may not know that his best friend is actually my ex-fiancé, and I have a very strange suspicion that the same man might also be my godfather." I winced as I spoke what I'd realised days before. "Now I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem very 'cool' to me."

I saw Martha look down at the floor and walk away back into the room. I felt my cheeks burn red as the heat crept up, but I didn't feel guilty for what I'd said. I stood up straight and looked around the corridor.

"All passengers prepare for immediate boarding." I heard a voice boom over the tannoy system. "I repeat, all passengers prepare for immediate boarding."

The Doctor must have gotten the rocket working. Great. Utopia, yeah right. No such thing as a 'perfect' world.

I walked away down the corridor, towards the boarding areas. They were nothing short of unsteady bridges linking the building to the rocket. I leaned against another cold metal wall and looked through the doors as people hurried to board the rocket, musing to myself what life might be like in this Utopia. Like it even existed. Still, it would be better than this. This life of mine, where I was in love with a man who was hundreds of years older me and uninterested; and my mother was lost to me forever; and my father, who definitely did love me, didn't seem to care for me at all.

I felt like I was in a soap opera.

I looked out to the rocket again. All those people, all that hope. What if it was true? What if they could find Utopia?

What if I could too?

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A/N: What's she going to do to find her Utopia? I wonder...


	32. Distractions

**Disclaimer: N-O doesn't spell "Yes, I have bought/stolen/'borrowed' the rights to Doctor Who". It spells "No".**

A/N: Oh my God, we have snow where I live. It's incredible - it never snows here. Anyway, that's my excuse for the late update. (And freakily, I mentioned 'snowballing' in my last A/N. Wierd...) Anyway, enjoy!

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**Distractions**

I was found minutes later, still staring speculatively at the few humans left that were still heading towards the rocket.

"Enjoying the view?" the Doctor asked me quietly, joining me by the cold metal wall. He knew I wouldn't answer, so I didn't bother.

"I am sorry." he told me sincerely, after a short pause. We both looked straight ahead, not even glancing at each other. "Not just about losing Rose, but about everything. I should have come back."

"Yeah." I agreed. The deafening sound of a horn echoed in the building, and the Doctor waited a moment before speaking again.

"I just couldn't face it." he admitted. "Evey time I thought about seeing you, I thought about Rose. I just figured... you wouldn't know any different. You wouldn't know I'd been so long." He sniffed nonchalantly and sighed. "'Spose it didn't work out."

"You think?" I mumbled.

He stood up straight, no longer leaning against the wall, and stood in front of me. I looked up at his face and saw he hadn't been lying. His eyes were different to how I remembered them - colder, darker. There were bags underneath - something I'd never seen before, as he needed so little sleep compared to humans.

"And I'm sorry about Martha."

What did he mean? That he'd been travelling with her, or that he'd just sent her out to spy on me or something? I felt the guilt return when I remember what I'd said to her.

"Me too."

He seemed to forgive me.

"Want to come and help fix a rocket?" he offered, holding his hand out and wriggling his fingers. My mouth twitched up into a slight smile, and I took his hand, letting him pull me up and walk me back to the Professor's room.

When we got back there, the Doctor, myself and Jack left again immediately, and headed down to an area below the rocket.

Before I knew it, I was being instructed how to use the computer system, and Jack was heading towards the fusion chamber below the rocket.

"Think you can manage that?" the Doctor was asking me, already walking away to his side of the switch-covered walls.

"'Course." I told him confidently, studying the dials. "I've learned a bit about computers." I muttered, smiling slyly. "Thank you Tosh."

"Wh-What are you taking your clothes off for?" the Doctor asked suddenly, and my head whipped around - completely unintentionally, of course - to where Jack was throwing his military coat to the side.

"I'm going in." Jack said, by means of an explanation. He stopped undressing at the coat.

"Well, by the looks of it, I'd say that stet radiation doesn't affect clothing, only flesh."

Jack shrugged. "I look good though." No arguing with that. He walked towards the door to the chamber and paused. "How long have you known?"

"Ever since I ran away from you." the Doctor replied shortly. "Good luck."

He entered the chamber. I braced myself, but he remained standing. A light switched on, and I flicked the corresponding switch. Easy.

The buzz of the computer sounded in the room.

"We lost the picture when that thing flared up." Martha's voice came out of the speakers. "Doctor, are you there?"

The Doctor looked down at the computer. "Receiving, yeah. He's inside."

"And still alive?" came Martha's incredulous response.

"Oh yes." the Doctor replied triumphantly. I felt a strange stab of guilt as the same glee ran through my own mind. I should be mourning Rose or something, not rushing around, sending people off to Utopia.

I was interrupted from my thoughts as a red warning light began to flash dangerously. I reset the coupling links with a few short flourishes and returned to my job of keeping the radiation levels as low as possible. The acts of finding a pressing corresponding buttons on the long metal wall took my mind off the previous problem.

"When did you first realize?" I heard the Doctor say a few minutes later, leaning against the wall by the radiation chamber (leaving me to do all the work, I might add). I glanced round, and listened in as I continued flicking the switches up and down.

"Earth, 1892." Jack replied, his voice distant and cold through the metal door. "Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kinda strange." I smiled involuntarily. "But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, strangulation... a stray javelin." I almost laughed, but the Doctor visibly winced. "In the end, I got the message, I'm the man who can never die. And all that time you knew."

The Doctor nodded in confirmation. "That's why I left you behind. It's not easy, even just... just looking at you Jack, 'cause you're... wrong." I frowned. What was that supposed to mean?

"Thanks." Jack replied sardonically.

"You are, I can't help it." the Doctor tried to explain. "I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time a space. You're a fact. That's never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you, tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you."

Great, something else my being half-human means. I don't get sixth sense things, _and_ I don't have the same "instinct" feelings. I've never felt so human.

Jack and the Doctor continued to speak as Jack pulled up the couplings.

"So what you're saying is that you're, uh, prejudiced?" Jack asked the Doctor, half teasing, half serious.

"I never thought of it like that." The Doctor replied, a hint of a smile in his voice.

"Shame on you." Jack joked. Okay, maybe it's not so bad that I don't have this sixth sense thing.

Though it's pretty unfair that I don't get that, when I have to have the other Time Lord sense - feeling 'the turn of the universe', as the Doctor explained to me when I was little. If I have that burden, I might as well have them all.

"Last thing I remember back when I was mortal... I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life. What happened?" Jack asked casually, his voice strained as he struggled to pull up the third coupling.

"Rose."

I flew around and stared at the Doctor. I had only ever heard the rough details of this story. Rose seemed to get upset every time the subject came up, so I soon learned to leave it be. I edged closer to them so I could hear better.

"I thought you sent her back home." Jack questioned. I already knew that bit.

"She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex." I never knew that.

"What does that mean, exactly?"

"No one's ever mean to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a God, a vengeful God. But she was human." the Doctor paused, remembering, I suppose. I only wish I could. That was all I had now, my memories of her. I felt a sharp stab of pain in my throat, but kept silent.

"Everything she did was so human." he continued. I listened intently, as if hearing about her would bring her back. "She brought you back to life, but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life."

"Do you think she could change me back?"

"I took the power out of her." I supposed that was the end of the story, as the Doctor waited before speaking again.

"She's gone, Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world, she's trapped there. The walls have closed." This time, I couldn't stifle the sound in my throat, but I turned my back on the Doctor, still listening to the conversation. I pressed a few buttons, a little harder than necessary, to show the Doctor I was still helping.

"I'm sorry." Jack said.

"Yep."

"I went back to her estate, in the 90s, just once or twice. Watched her growing up. Never said hello, timelines and all that."

There was yet another pause, and the sound of the clicking switches and buttons was all that could be heard.

"Do you want to die?" the Doctor asked, as casually as if he'd just asked if Jack wanted chips.

"This one's a little stuck." Jack said, his voice even more strained. I flicked a few switches to try and make the coupling easier to pull up.

"Jack?" the Doctor persisted.

"I thought I did." My mind focused on this as I wondered why, and when. "I dunno. But this lot, you see them out here, surviving... and that's fantastic."

"You might be out there, somewhere."

"I could go meet myself."

"Well, the only man you're ever gonna be happy with."

"This new regeneration: he's kinda cheeky."

"Hmm." the Doctor murmured in agreement. I'd never met his previous regeneration, the one Jack had known. I'd thought it was only his looks that had changed, but I wondered now what else had too.

Jack released the third coupling and moved onto the fourth and final one. I heard the Doctor walk past me briskly and head to the other side of the wall, opposite to the one I was controlling. I saw him glance up at me.

"You all right?" he asked casually. I tried to smile; I knew he'd never liked all the domesticity - the talking, and waiting, and the human things I did with Rose.

"Mmm, you?" I asked, wanting him to speak so I could focus on keeping my thoughts under control.

"'Course. I'm always all right." he responded, the typical Doctor answer to that question.

"Will you tell me what happened?" I asked him, glancing over my shoulder to see his reaction.

"To Rose?" he checked. I nodded.

"You owe me that much."

He nodded back and turned away to his wall. I turned back to my side, frantically searching the metal for something to press to keep my mind busy.

Minutes later, we heard Jack's voice from the radiation-filled chamber.

"Yes!"

I settled the coupling Jack had just released while the Doctor headed back over to the door.

"Now get out of there!" he yelled to Jack urgently. "Come on!"

Jack rushed out of the chamber and slid the door shut behind him.

"Lieutenant, everyone on board?" the Doctor asked Atillo through the computer system.

"Ready and waiting." Atillo reported.

Atillo's report sounded over the speaker system.

"Ready to launch. Outer doors sealed. Countdown commences, T minus 99… 98…"

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A/N: Rubbish ending, but I had to cut the chapter into two. If you haven't already, please vote on the poll on my Profile Page - I want 100 votes!!

Review, or I'll set my snowmen on you.


	33. Lift Off

**Disclaimer: When does the new series start? 'Cause I'm dying to not-own that as well.**

A/N: I have a real excuse this time. I'm actually writing a proper 'book' now! I'm loving it, but obviously it leaves less fanfiction-writing time, so sorry about that. Here goes!

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**Lift Off**

The countdown was interrupted as Martha ran in. I turned to face the wall, ignoring Jack as he bounded over to me, and refocused on the countdown. 94, 93, 92...

"Ah, nearly there." the Doctor said. "The footprint is a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It's gonna take the both of us to keep it stable." 83, 82, 81...

Martha stepped in front of him. "Doctor, it's the Professor." she began. "He's got this watch. He's got a fob-watch. It's the same as yours. Same writing on it; same… everything."

"Don't be ridiculous." the Doctor said, frowning. I looked over. 72, 71, 70...

"How's that ridiculous?" I asked, and was ignored.

"I asked him." Martha persisted. "He said he's had it all his life."

"So, he's got the same watch." Jack shrugged. Everyone else seemed to have forgotten the slowly descending numbers. 64, 63, 62...

"Yeah, but it's not a watch." Martha continued. Doesn't she ever give up? "It's this chameleon thing."

"No, no, no." the Doctor said hurriedly. "It's this… this thing, this device. It rewrites biology; changes a Time Lord into a human."

"What?" I asked. First time I'd heard of it.

"And it's the same watch." Martha finished triumphantly.

"It can't be." the Doctor denied. An alarm sounded, and I rushed over to the Doctor's side of the wall to help him override it.

"That means he could be a Time Lord." Jack said joyfully. "You might not be the last one!"

"Jack, keep it level!" he shouted, not making eye contact with any of us. 49, 48, 47...

"But that's brilliant, isn't it?" Martha asked.

"Yes, it is. 'Course it is. Depends which one." the Doctor said, flustered as he fiddled with a switch. "Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Time Lords. All of them, they died."

"Not if he was human!" Jack offered. My mouth just opened and closed, as if out of sync with the rest of my body. My fingers turned numb as they brushed across the buttons, and the alarm quietened, though I tried to focus my mind on it. 33, 32, 31... The numbers beat out as if a rhythm in my heart.

"What did he say, Martha?" the Doctor asked, turning to face her. "What did he say?!" he shouted. I flinched, as did Martha.

"He looked at the watch like he could hardly see it." she rushed. "Like that... perception filter thing."

The Doctor's eyes widened. I watched his expression fearfully. 21, 20, 19... "What about now?" he asked breathlessly. "Can he see it now?"

Martha couldn't answer. The Doctor simply stared at her, waiting for some kind of reaction, whilst Jack and I exchanged nervous glances.

"13, 12, 11, 10…" came Atillo's voice over the speakers, now loud enough for us all to hear. We sprung to action, though the conversation continued.

"If he escaped the Time War, then it's the perfect place to hide." Jack offered. "The end of the universe."

"Think of what the Face of Boe said." Martha said excitedly. Jack turned around suddenly, then looked back to the wall of switches. "His dying words. He said… You are not alone."

The Doctor's gaze fell to the computer, where we had been talking to the Professor moments before. Professor Yana. The Doctor worked it out immediately, and I realised soon after.

Yana. Y.A.N.A. You Are Not Alone...

While all this was going on, the countdown continued. "3, 2, 1... We have approached lift off!"

The Doctor tore his eyes from the screen and picked up the phone linking to the rocket.

"Lieutenant, have you achieved velocity?" he asked hurriedly, but there was clearly no reply. "Have you done it? Lieutenant! Have you done it?"

Atillo must have answered, because the next thing the Doctor said was "Good luck." before hanging up the phone. As soon as the phone was returned to it's pad, the Doctor was sprinting from the room, with Martha, Jack and I just behind him.

- - - - - -

We ran after the Doctor as he pelted up the building, but he came to a sudden halt at the main door leading to the part of the Silo holding Yana's room, and we all crashed into him, soon realising the reason for the stop. The door had ground to a close. With a loud clunk of metal, the huge door was locked.

Jack leaped over to the keypad by the door and pressed in figures at random. The Doctor reached inside his pocket for his sonic screwdriver. Martha took a step back, but I jumped in at the door handle and tried to wrench the metal across.

"Get it open!" the Doctor yelled frantically. "Get it open!"

"No, really?" I shouted back sarcastically as I pulled with all my strength on the door. "I'd never 'ave thought of that!"

I tried to heave the door across, but it wouldn't budge. The Doctor was frantically buzzing the sonic screwdriver at the door, and then Jack entered the right code to the keypad and the vast sheet of metal slid across the floor.

I dashed through, elated, almost falling as the Doctor ran past me and Jack and Martha followed us in. We sprinted through the corridors, the place silent but for our echoing footsteps and heavy breathing; and of course, our hearts beating in our ears and our own thoughts pounding.

Soon, we turned a corner and were met by the horrifying roar of the Futurekind - the devil-like beings that apparently used to be human. They ran towards us menacingly, with torches thrust out and growls echoing throughout the halls. We turned on our heels and backtracked for a few seconds, not knowing where we should go. We ran pst an opening, before Jack called us back.

"This way!" he beckoned over the deafening sound of the rampaging Futurekind, and we turned back and followed him through the intersecting corridor.

- - - - - - -

After a few more complicated twists and turns - all of which the Doctor seemed to recognise - we made it back up to the control room.

I tried to peer through the misted up window in the door, but the Doctor got between it and I, looking out with wide eyes for Yana. Jack got to work on the keypad, while Martha hung back again, this time to wait for the Futurekind to find us. I could still hear their war cries - though whether it was them or just the repetition of the sound in my mind, I wasn't sure.

I returned to my previous method of pulling against the door with all my might (which isn't a lot).

"Professor!" the Doctor yelled through the window, and I flinched away, my ears already pounding. He banged on the window with his fist."Professor, let me in! Let me in! Jack, get the door open!" This time I was at a loss for a sarcastic comment, now seriously worried about what was going on.

"Professor!" the Doctor repeated frantically, louder still. "Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there?! Please, I need to explain! Whatever you do, don't open that watch!"

"Chantho?" I shouted, a thought suddenly coming into my head. But nothing.

I heard a muffled voice from inside the room, but couldn't make out the words. There was no reply to the Doctor.

"They're coming!" Martha shrieked, stumbling away from the corridor intersection.

"Professor!" the Doctor yelled again, this time almost pleading. Again, there was no sign that the Professor had even heard. "Open the door, please!" He sounded as if he was crying, and this terrified me so much I even ceased in my pathetic attempts to open the door. He didn't notice. "I'm begging you, Professor! Please! Listen to me!"

Jack growled angrily at the keypad in frustration.

"Open the door, please!" the Doctor yelled.

I heard a gunshot. I looked up at the door, open mouthed in shock. The next thing I knew, Jack was holding a gun, there were sparks flying out of the keypad, and the door was grinding slowly open. The Doctor slid himself through, and I snapped to action and threw myself in after him.

I saw Chantho lying on the floor, and then, looking up, I saw the Professor staggering backwards into the TARDIS. The Doctor ran the few metres up to the door, but couldn't get it open.

You know how people say that when you're about to die, everything slows down? Well it happened right then. Martha rushed past in a blur, shouting to me about something. Jack, clutching the door, was trying to heave it shut behind us. The Doctor was yelling at the TARDIS - or was he yelling at something inside it? And I just stood there, helpless, in the middle of the chaos.

And all I could think of was that Rose should be by my side.

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A/N: Hope you liked it! Review! And sorry about the Martha-bashing, it is important for later though. And it doesn't go on for much longer.


	34. Need Some Help?

**Disclaimer: We're moving on. Yet another episode I do not own.**

A/N: Sorry for the slow update, I've been having trouble getting onto Fanfic. Anyone else experiencing the same? Anyway, I love this episode. -squee-

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**Need Some Help?**

I was awoken from my reverie by several voices.

Numerous cries of "Let me in!" came from the Doctor, banging on the walls of the TARDIS.

"She's dead." was the soft, and yet surprisingly loud, voice of Martha, who was sat by Chantho on the cold metal floor.

"I've broken the lock!" Jack yelled from his position by the metal door that was still open, and not budging. "Give me a hand!"

My mouth opened and closed, much like a goldfish. I'd never understood that comparison before.

"I'm begging you!" the Doctor pleaded, and my head snapped round to him and the TARDIS. "Everything's changed! It's only the two of us! We're the only ones left!"

Hmph. If I'd been able to construct a thought, I would have been offended.

Footsteps from near Chantho made me spin around, in time to see Martha rushing over to the door to help Jack.

"Just let me in!" the Doctor cried, and I spun around again to face him, then quickly back to Jack and Martha, then back to the Doctor.

A sudden golden light erupted from the depths of the TARDIS, and I stumbled back, momentarily blinded. I felt a strange sense in my mind, like my consciousness was adjusting to something new - a new life - and I turned back to Jack and Martha to see if they had been affected in the same way. It seemed they had not. I'd never felt anything like it, but it seemed to fade away after a moment. A ear-splitting scream sounded in the room, and I flinched away, moving closer to Martha and Jack. I spun around once more as the terrifying growls of the Futurekind could be heard again. They had found us.

Without any further hesitation - and after deciding I was definitely _not _good under pressure - I dashed to the door and helped push against it with Martha and Jack, my face contorting in pain as pulses ran through my arms.

"Doctor! You'd better think of something!" Jack cried, but the Doctor seemed oblivious. Some of the Futurekind forced their hands and feet through the door, and Martha and I cringed away, still managing to push with all our strength.

A loud resounding beep sounded in the room, followed by a young, enthusiastic voice, supposedly from inside the TARDIS. The Professor?

"Doctor - ooh, new voice." the voice cut off mid sentence. "Hello... hello!" the man spoke in a low-pitched voice, then again in a high-pitched voice, and then once more, normally. "Hello. Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat, while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me? I don't think!" A harsh laugh followed.

"Hang on..." Martha said slowly, releasing her grip on the door just as one of the Futurekind shoved his whole arm through the door opening. I shrieked. "I know that voice..."

"Yeah, great!" I screamed at her over all the noise. "Maybe we can have a chat, after we're DEAD!"

"I'm asking you, really, properly!" the Doctor begged the voice inside the TARDIS hsatily. "Just stop! Just think!"

"Use my name." the man said sternly, and the Doctor hesitated.

"Master." he spoke, coldly, bitterly. "I'm sorry."

What?!

"Tough!" the man replied, and the faint whirring of the TARDIS began to sound through the place.

"We can't hold out much longer, Doctor!" Jack yelled out as the Doctor reached inside his pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. He held it up to face the TARDIS.

"Oh, no you don't!" came the voice again, this time angry, and there was a pause. "So, End of the Universe." it said casually, clearly enjoying every moment. "Have fun. Bye bye!"

"Doctor, stop him!" Martha cried.

"Martha, just help!" I snarled angrily.

As another member of the Futurekind thrust a dirty, tattooed arm through the opening in the door, I let out a shriek and looked across to the TARDIS for a distraction.

It began to dematerialise.

"No!" I screamed, though I'm not sure if I did so out loud or in my head. The Doctor put his sonic screwdriver back into his pocket hastily and dashed over to us.

"What the Hell was all that about?" I cried unintelligibly, but the Doctor raced towards Jack and ignored me, fiddling with the vortex manipulator on Jack's wrist as the three of us continued to fight off the monsters outside.

"Hold still!" the Doctor told Jack irritatedly. "Don't move! Hold it still!"

"I'm telling you, it's broken!" Jack insisted, still pushing against the door. It was just beginning to slide in the right direction, but not by a lot "It hasn't worked for years!"

"That's because you didn't have me." the Doctor said determinedly. "Alli, Martha, grab hold!"

I did so, reaching across and grabbing onto the black wristwatch-like item, and the Doctor took Martha's hand and placed it on top of mine. He pressed down on the manipulator, and I felt myself slide towards the others.

My insides seemed to compress, like there wasn't enough room in my body. I felt instantly dizzy, as if I was only experiencing an echo of the moment, and then I felt my surroundings fade into white. Worried that I was fainting or something, I gripped extra hard onto Jack's wrist, and closed my eyes to steady myself. I let out a moan as my head began to ache.

When I opened my eyes, I almost fell over from giddiness, but steadied myself on a brick wall. Who put that there? As I stared at it in wonder, my senses began to return, and I realised I was no longer holding Jack's arm. I looked around worriedly, and immediately fell against the wall. I didn't try to stand upright, as I knew my legs wouldn't hold my weight. Looking around, I saw Jack, the Doctor and Martha staggering around beside me, in what appeared to be an alleyway in the 21st Century, probably London.

"Oh, my head!" Martha groaned, her voice sounding ten times louder in my pounding head.

"Oh, God.." I muttered, and I heard similar exclamations of pan from Jack and the Doctor, though they seemed to recover quicker than Martha or myself.

"Time travel without a capsule." the Doctor said, his voice strained. "That's a killer."

Jack stood up and Martha copied his action, so I forced myself into a standing position, holding the wall for support. The Doctor started off down the alley and onto a main street.

"Still, at least we made it." Jack supplied, seeming to recover as we ran after the Doctor. I was clutching his arm for support. "Earth, 21st Century by the looks of it." he laughed. "Talk about lucky."

"That wasn't luck, that was me." the Doctor told us matter-of-factly. Maybe it was the ideal moment to realise it, but the Doctor seemed so different from when I'd last seen him. With Rose. I found myself wondering exactly how much I'd missed, and how long he'd been alone. Well, not quite _alone_.

I released Jack's arm as we continued down the street, slower now, and my bearings came back to me. I still felt nauseous, but it seemed to be wearing away.

With the Doctor as my father, you'd think I'd be used to it by now.

- - - - - - -

We wandered around the streets of London for a few minutes, before settling down in the middle of a small area cut off from the rest of the street.

"The moral is, if you're gonna get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator." Jack laughed as we sat down on a concrete step.

"But this Master bloke, he's got the TARDIS." Martha intercut. "He could be anywhere in time and space."

"No, he's here." the Doctor insisted. "Trust me." He looked around, taking in the surroundings, and I copied his actions to see what he was looking at. All I could see were graffitied walls and huge white posters plastered to walls, doors and signposts, reading 'VOTE SAXON' and 'SAXON IS YOUR MAN'. I remembered the posters from when I had first found myself lost in 2007, and smiled at the memory.

"Who is he, anyway?" Martha asked vaguely. "That voice at the end, that wasn't the Professor." Well done, genius.

"If the Master's a Time Lord, he must have regenerated." Jack pointed out, his thoughts the same as mine, though I didn't know much about the process.

"What does that mean?" Martha asked.

"Means he's changed his face, voice, body, everything." Jack told her. "New man." He looked pointedly at the Doctor, who was studying a man in a hooded top across the street.

"Then how are we gonna find him?" Martha asked, exasperated. Doesn't she ever stop to breathe?

"I'll know him, the moment I see him." the Doctor explained, not taking his eyes off the man. "Time Lords always do." Shivers were sent down my spine at the coldness in his tone. He'd definitely changed since last time, and I knew why. I looked down and blinked a few times, focusing on the others' voices rather than my own thoughts.

"But hold on..." Martha said, and as I looked up with annoyance at her non-stop talking, I saw her glance around. "If he could be anyone... We missed the election." I sighed loudly. "It can't be..."

"What?" I asked wearily. She didn't reply.

Jack and the Doctor stood slowly and made their way to a big television screen showing the news. I looked around, and stood up with Martha to walk over to them.

"Mr Saxon has returned from the Palace," a voice-over was saying, as a young, handsome man in a suit smiled at the cameras. "And is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters." the voice continued.

"I said I knew that voice." Martha said suddenly.

"We know." I muttered bitterly, but was once again ignored.

"When he spoke inside the TARDIS." she continued, having not heard my comment. "I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon."

Great.

...Wait, what?

"That's him." the Doctor acknowledged grimly. "He's Prime Minister."

"What?" I voiced, confusion spreading across my face.

"Mr Saxon, this way, sir." a camera man on the television screen spoke, but I was no longer listening to that. "Come on, kiss for the lady, sir."

"Seriously, what?" I repeated.

"The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain." the Doctor explained. His eyes widened at something on the screen. "The Master and his _wife_?"

This time, I did turn to look at the screen. Harold Saxon was addressing the nation. "This country has been sick." he told us, somewhat proudly. "This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now… is a Doctor."

He gave a wicked smile to the camera, and Martha, Jack and I turned with incredulous faces to look at the Doctor.

He gave us no explanation, and no words of comfort. I turned back to study the man on the television screen and my shoulders slumped.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

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A/N: What do you think? -sigh- I love John Simm... Don't we all?


	35. A New Adventure

**Disclaimer: It's kind of getting depressing now.**

A/N: (To answer a review, Alli was supposed to be freaking out last chapter because there was so much going on and she missed Rose. Sorry if that wasn't clear - it probably wasn't written exactly brilliantly.)

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**A New Adventure**

For some reason unknown to myself, we went to Martha's flat. It was quite a nice place, if I must say, though a little small.

Once inside, she seemed a lot more relaxed. I couldn't see why, since we had an evil Time Lord as Prime Minister and we had no idea what he was planning.

"Home." she sighed as we entered. The Doctor walked ahead, looking for the computer, and Jack and I hung back. I used this opportunity to mention Torchwood - Jack seemed reluctant to tell the Doctor about me working for him, and I was in no rush.

"Have you talked to the others?" I muttered to him, and he shook his head.

"Just about to." He pulled out his mobile and pressed a single number, then held the device to his ear. I watched him nervously, worried about their reactions to our sudden disappearance.

"What have you got?" the Doctor asked Martha. "Computer, laptop, anything." Martha rushed to her desk and started up her laptop. The Doctor glanced at us. "Jack, who are you phoning?" he asked. "You can't tell anyone we're here!"

"Just some friends of mine, but there's no reply…" Jack answered distractedly. I shot him an anxious glance, but he didn't speak.

"Here you go." Martha said, passing the laptop to the Doctor. "Any good?"

Jack took the laptop off the Doctor and set it down on the desk. "I can show you the Saxon websites." he explained, pushing past me to sit at he desk. "He's been around for ages."

"That's so weird though." Martha said with fascination. "It's the day after the election. That's only four days after I met you."

"Well, that's why it's called Time travel." I muttered under my breath.

"We went flying all around the universe while he was here the whole time." the Doctor added.

"You gonna tell us who he is?" Martha asked. She had a point.

"He's a Time Lord." the Doctor answered shortly.

"How come I've never heard of him?" I asked.

"It never came up." he said casually. I glared at him, and he shook his head. "It's... complicated. He shouldn't be alive."

"What about the rest of it?" Martha insisted. "I mean, who'd call himself 'the Master'?"

"That's all you need to know."

"But he's a Time Lord." I persisted. "You said... we were the only ones."

The Doctor shot me a look as if to say 'not now', and I reluctantly dropped it. He looked to Jack, who was loading up the internet. "Come on, show me Harold Saxon."

Martha wandered over to her phone, where she checked her messages. A voice spoke out from the machine. "Martha, where are you?" the woman asked. "I've got this new job. You won't believe it. It's weird, they just phoned me up out of the blue. I'm working for -"

"Oh, like it matters." Martha interrupted, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"So what, the Master just walked along and became Prime Minister?" I asked with confusion as Jack surfed Saxon's website.

"Seems like it." the Doctor replied, scratching his chin. I sighed, my confusion unresolved.

Minutes later, and we were watching a bunch of celebrities telling us why they loved Harold Saxon.

I don't understand politics.

Anyway, it turned out the Master had been living on Earth for about a year and a half, building up his life and becoming Prime Minster. The Doctor had fused the co-ordinates so that he could only travel between the place we were (the year 100 trillion) and the place he and Martha had gone last, which was present day Earth.

Martha revealed she was going to vote for him. So did Jack. I couldn't really reply when I was asked, as I hadn't really paid attention to the voting.

"Well, aside from the fact that I'm 'legally' only 16 and wouldn't be allowed to vote, I _was_ in the wrong time and should have only been 1." I said sarcastically.

"But why do you say that?" the Doctor asked Jack and Martha, not responding to me. "What was his policy? What did he stand for?"

"I dunno..." Martha answered vaguely, tapping out a tune on her legs as she spoke. "He always sounded... good." I snorted. "Like you could trust him. Just nice." she continued, still tapping out the constant rhythm. "He spoke about... I can't really remember, but it was good. Just the... sound of his voice."

"That's detailed." I said sarcastically. "What, has he hypnotised you or something?"

"What's that?" the Doctor asked suddenly, and Martha looked up, startled, as if she had just woken up.

"What?" she asked, wide-eyed. She stopped tapping out of shock and stared straight at the Doctor.

"That!" he said, pointing at her fingers. "That tapping, that rhythm! What are you doing?"

She looked down at her fingers and then back at the Doctor. "I dunno. It's nothing, it's just - I dunno!" she spoke quickly.

A message flashed up on the computer screen and the Doctor switched on the television.

"Our lord and master is speaking to his kingdom." he said sarcastically, and we all moved in to see Harold Saxon - the Master - sat in an ornate room, addressing us. Well, not us personally, but you know what I mean.

"Britain, Britain, Britain." he began casually. "What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came; out of the unknown, falling from the skies." We all exchanged glances, unsure of where this was going. "You've seen it happen. Big Ben destroyed, a spaceship over London. All those ghosts and metal men. The Christmas star that came to kill. Time and time again the government told you nothing. Well not me. Not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose here today is to tell you this: Citizens of Great Britain… I have been contacted. A message, for humanity, from beyond the stars." He nodded once to camera.

I glanced at the Doctor, who's eyes were glued to the screen, then to Jack, who shared a disbelieving look with me. We hadn't heard anything of it back at Torchwood.

Back on the screen, a video was being played. A small metal sphere appeared in the clip, covered in intricate grooves and markings.

"People of the Earth, we come in peace." a female voice rang out, supposedly the sphere, almost electronically. "We bring great gifts. We bring technology, and wisdom, and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship."

"Ooh, sweet." the Master cooed as the video disappeared and he returned on the screen. I pulled a face at his almost mocking tone. "And this species has identified itself. They're called the Toclafane."

"What?" the Doctor asked disbelievingly. Clearly, they're a lie.

"And tomorrow morning, they will appear." he continued. "Not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin." This was bad. "Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe. Every man, woman and child. Every teacher, and chemist, and lorry driver, and farmer. And every… oh, I don't know…" the camera zoomed in to his face, and he left an agonising pause before he spoke again. "Medical student?"

The Doctor turned to look at Martha. I caught on and turned around too, as did Jack. She was staring wide-eyed at the television. I turned back to look at the screen and saw the Doctor turn the television set around. Secured on the back of the screen was a bomb.

Yeah. A bomb. This guy's a nutter.

Understandably, we ran. Right out of the house, just as it blew up.

Well, the Doctor's _very_ good at timing...

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A/N: Review maybe?


	36. Hunted

**Disclaimer: Don't rub it in...**

A/N: Hey, not many reviews for chapter 35! Where'd you go? Anyway, a bit more action here, and a bit of Alli/Jack talking as well. Enjoy!

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**Hunted**

"Everyone all right?" the Doctor asked round as we looked up at the burning building. "Martha - what are you doing?" She had her phone to her ear.

"He knows about me." she explained quickly. "What about my family?"

"Don't tell them anything!" the Doctor ordered.

"I'll do what I like!" she snapped back. "Mum?" she spoke into the phone. "Oh my God, you're there." There was a pause as her mother spoke.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." she replied, and her voice became background noise.

I turned to Jack, giving the Doctor a quick glance to check he wasn't listening. "Nothing from the others?" I checked, and Jack shook his head.

"I'll give Ianto another call later." he muttered. I hid a smile at his choice of person, but then the memory of our last 'conversation' at Torchwood came flooding back to me, and it turned into a frown. I looked up to Jack sadly, and he seemed to share my thoughts, though I was sure he didn't.

"So, who is this guy?" I asked, turning to the Doctor, since it seemed Martha would be while on the phone.

"Long story." he dismissed.

"No." I refused, crossing my arms. "Stop treating me like a child; stop ignoring me because it's easier. Tell me what's going on. You already owe me one explanation."

I stuck my jaw out in faked confidence, though I was practically shaking just at the mention of Rose. The Doctor looked guilty - though whether he really was or not, I'm not sure.

"Alli -" he said firmly, and I had a feeling he was about to lecture me - something he didn't usually do. I groaned, and he was about to speak again when Martha shouted across to us.

"I gotta help them!" she yelled, and we all turned around, confused, as Martha ran across to her car.

"That's exactly what they want!" the Doctor shouted back, apparently knowing what was going on. "It's a trap!"

"I don't care!" Martha yelled back, and the Doctor ran after her. Jack and I followed, and jumped into the back of her car, while the Doctor leaped into the front passenger seat and Martha took the drvier's seat.

I have to say, I hope Martha doesn't usually drive in the same way she did then, with so many near-crashes and shouts from the Doctor to remind her where she was. She dialled a number on her phone with her 'free' hand, while we all cringed in the back, waiting for a crash that thankfully never came.

"C'mon Tish, pick up." she muttered to herself, resting the phone down. The rings sounded throughout the car via Martha's handsfree system.

'Tish' picked up. "Martha, I can't talk right now." she said hurriedly. "We just made first contact. Did you see - What are you - Get off!" she suddenly shrieked, and her voice faded away slightly. "Linda, tell them!" The phone cut off. Jack and I exchanged glances.

"What's happening?" Martha yelled into the now dead phone. She glared across at the Doctor. "It's your fault." she said harshly. "It's all your fault."

"Just watch the road!" I shouted out as we almost drove into a wall.

After many bumps, near-crashes and shouts from the Doctor, we made it to Martha's parents' house. Well, almost. As soon as we rounded the corner, we knew something was wrong. A big black car was blocking what I assumed was Martha's parents' house, and black-clad soldiers were standing all around the street. Police cars and officers were dotted around the street, and the neighbours seemed to have come out for a look. Martha came to an abrupt stop and we were flung forwards at the force.

"Martha, get out of here!" Martha's mother yelled at us, restrained by soldiers as she was pushed into a car, her voice muffled. "Get out!"

A woman in a black suit said something to her colleagues and they took position, ready to shoot.

"Martha, reverse." the Doctor said.

The woman said something else, and the sound of guns cocking could be heard.

"Martha!" I yelled at her as she froze, staring at her family.

"Fire!" we heard, loud and clear, outside the car.

"Move it!" Jack shouted as the soldiers began to shoot. Martha seemed to snap back to life, and reversed the car, turned around, and headed in the opposite direction.

I ducked as the back windshield was hit by bullets, and it shattered over our heads.

"The only place we can go… planet Earth." Martha shouted at the Doctor. "Great!"

"Careful!" was his only response as we narrowly missed a tree.

"Now, Martha, listen to me." Jack said, leaning forward. "Do as I say. We've gotta ditch this car. Pull over. Right now!"

Martha slammed on the brakes and we stopped again. As we all scrambled out of the car, Martha pulled out her phone and began to dial.

"Martha, come on!" the Doctor yelled back to her.

"Leo!" she said into her phone, ignoring us as we walked away. "Oh, thank God! Leo, you've gotta listen to me. Where are you?"

I fell into step with the Doctor and Jack as we rushed away from the car, Martha a couple of metres behind.

"Leo, just listen to me." Martha was saying. "Don't go home, I'm telling you. Don't phone Mum, or Dad, or Tish. You've gotta hide." A pause as Leo replied. I turned to look, wanting to get my mind off the disaster that was unfolding before us. "On my life. You've gotta trust me. Go to Boxer's. Stay with him_. _Don't tell anyone! Just hide!"

She froze. I kept walking, one eye still on her. She was listening to something, but not Leo. I tapped the Doctor.

"Let them go, Saxon!" she said suddenly into the phone. The Doctor rushed over. "D'you hear me? Let them go!" she screamed as the Doctor took the phone.

"I'm here." the Doctor said calmly. "Master." I glanced to Jack, who had slowed and joined us when Martha had started shouting. "You chose it." the Doctor said, answering an unknown question. "Psychiatrist's field day." Jack, Martha and I all exchanged glances to see what the other was thinking, but none of us could unravel the half-conversation.

"So… Prime Minister." the Doctor spoke again, then a pause. "Who are those creatures? 'Cause there's no such thing as the Toclafane. It's just a made-up name, like the Bogeyman."

From then on, the conversation became useless; we had no way of telling what the Doctor was talking about.

"Don't worry about your family." Jack said quietly to Martha. "We'll make sure they get help."

My head snapped up to question him. "You got through to the others? When?"

Jack shook his head. "Not yet. But I will."

I nodded, my shoulders falling. I looked up at him again, biting my lip. "Are we... are you gonna tell him?"

He didn't have to ask who 'he' was, or what about. He shrugged. "Like I said, I won't if you don't." he told me, quoting from our previous conversation on the matter.

The Doctor walked off to the side, and the three of us hung back behind him. I got up the courage to ask him about the office incident, and turned to him slowly.

"Jack," I started quietly, wishing Martha wasn't there. "Before we left, in the office..." I trailed off, leaving the question unasked.

Jack seemed to be in pain as he answered. "Alli, you already know how I feel. And -"

"No, I don't." I cut him off. "You never talk. Not properly. So tell me."

He shifted his body slightly to turn in my direction, glancing briefly at Martha. When he looked into my eyes, I could tell he knew what my question was. "Alli, of course I do." he said firmly, refusing to say the actual words. "But we've changed. So much. And who's to say what'll happen next? Just... remember that I do."

"But... you love Ianto?" I ventured, and saw Martha take a quick glance in our direction.

Jack sighed and paused. "Yeah." he said somewhat lamely.

"Look." Martha interrupted us, pointing to the Doctor, who was staring at something in a window. We walked over to him.

In the window was a television showing the news. A news reporter was talking - though we couldn't hear the words - and on the side of the screen were four pictures. The Doctor, Jack, Martha, and myself. We were on the news. Writing on the botton of the screen reported something about how we were 'armed' and 'dangerous'.

The Doctor turned to the right suddenly and looked up at a security camera. "He can see us." he told us grimly, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and pointing it at the camera. With a flash of blue, the camera sparked and broke.

"He's got control of everything." he added.

"Well then what do we do?" I asked, scowling.

"We've got nowhere to go." Jack added.

"Doctor, what do we do?" Martha asked persistently, but the Doctor had no answer, still listening to the Master through the phone.

When he did speak, it was something we should have expected. "We run."

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A/N: Review and get cookies!


	37. Telling Stories Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. I do, however, now own a full set of clone!chibi!Doctors and a clone!chibi!Jack, courtesy of The Chibi's Are Stalking Me. And of course, my very own chibi!Alli.**

A/N: A bit of conflict here, and next chapter, all will be revealed about the Canary Wharf battle. Enjoy!

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**Telling Stories - Part One**

When the night began to draw in, we went into hiding in a disused warehouse area. It was freezing, but Jack and the Doctor didn't seem to mind. Jack was pressing random buttons on his Vortex Manipulator, while the Doctor was using Martha' laptop, the only thing we'd salvaged from her house.

"How was it?" asked Jack, and I turned around to see Martha heading back to our small circle. She sat down beside me and the Doctor.

"I don't think anyone saw me." she replied, handing round bags of chips. "Anything new?"

"I've got this tuned into the government wavelength so we can follow what Saxon's doing." Jack offered, holding up his Vortex Manipulator to show it off.

"Yeah, I meant about my family." Martha snapped. I exchanged a glance with Jack - something that seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence - and Martha turned to the Doctor.

"It still says 'The Jones family, taken in for questioning'." he answered her. "Tell you what though, no mention of Leo."

"He's not as daft as he looks." she smiled, then faltered. "I'm talking about my brother on the run. How did this happen?" None of us could answer.

"Nice chips." Jack said casually to break the sudden silence. I almost smiled.

"Actually, they're not bad." the Doctor agreed, popping one into his mouth.

I exchanged looks with Jack and Martha, and Martha nodded towards the Doctor. I picked up a chip and began to chew on it slowly, excusing myself from the question she wanted to ask. Jack sighed to himself.

"So, Doctor, who is he?" Jack asked confidently. "How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?"

"And what is he to you?" Martha added. "Like a colleague...?"

"A friend, at first." the Doctor answered. Why hadn't he answered me when _I'd_ asked?

"I thought you were gonna say he was your secret brother or something." Martha joked, and I pulled a face, while the Doctor and Jack turned to stare at her.

"You've been watching too much TV." the Doctor said with raised eyebrows, and Martha chuckled. To be honest, I didn't understand what was so funny about an evil Time Lord.

"But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect." Jack began, prompting the Doctor.

"Well, perfect to look at, maybe." he told us casually, leaning back on his 'seat'. "And it was, it was beautiful. They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems." I leaned in closer, forgetting my chips. I'd only ever heard the Doctor talk about Gallifrey so freely once before, when he got so fed up with me pestering him about it, he eventually gave in. He had told Rose and I the most amazing stories. "And on the Continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords..." I could picture it my head, the image I had tried to capture for months after he'd first described it. I smiled at the memory of myself and Rose, sat on the edge of my bed as we listened to the Doctor's voice with closed eyes.

"The oldest and most mighty race in the Universe, looking down on the galaxies below... sworn never to interfere... only to watch..." He snapped out of his trance-like state and spoke more factually now. "Children of Gallifrey were taken from their families at the age of 8 to enter the Academy. And some say that's when it all began. When he was a child... that's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation; it's a gap in fabric of of reality, through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. You stand there, 8 years old, staring at the raw power of Time and Space... just a child..." The memory seemed to pain him, but he continued. "Some would be inspired, some would run away... and some would go mad."

"What about you?" Martha asked.

"Oh, the ones that ran away." the Doctor said with a mouth full of chips. "I never stopped!" I smiled weakly at that.

A beep from my right alerted us to Jack's Vortex Manipulator. "Encrypted channel with files attached." he told us, studying the device. "Don't recognize it."

"Patch it through to the laptop." the Doctor suggested, and Jack stood up and moved over to him.

"Since we're telling stories... Uh, there's something I haven't told you." He glanced at me, and I swallowed nervously. He pressed a few buttons on his Manipulator and the laptop beeped.

"You work for Torchwood?" the Doctor said, disgusted, as the Torchwood logo appeared on the screen. Oh. I thought he was going to mention me. What was wrong with Torchwood?

"I swear to you, it's different. It's changed. There's only half a dozen of us." Jack insisted, failing, I noticed, to mention who was included in that 'us'.

"Everything Torchwood did, and you're part of it?" the Doctor spat.

"What?" I asked, confused. "What did we do?"

"The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf." Jack said quickly, not looking at me. "I rebuilt it, I changed it. And when I did that, I did it for you, in your honour."

Something clicked in my head as the Doctor glared at Jack. "Wait... Canary Wharf?" I asked slowly. "But that... _Torchwood_ killed Rose?" I spat at Jack angrily, standing up.

He shook his head frantically. "No!" I frowned. "Well, yeah." he amended. "But that was Torchwood London. We're Torchwood Cardiff. Completely different."

"'We'?" the Doctor asked with a frown before I could reply to Jack. I froze. Jack didn't reply either. I turned to him, still angry.

"Didn't you think I should know what kind of a place I was joining?" I asked Jack loudly, clenching my fists.

"You got my daughter working for _Torchwood_?" the Doctor asked before Jack could answer, his fury plain in his expression. I looked across at him, startled. I couldn't remember the last time he'd been so protective of me. "Even after everything that happened, you got Alli involved?"

"It wasn't like that!" Jack defended himself. "We're different now, we help!"

"Well, that's what Torchwood London thought they were doing." the Doctor snarled.

Jack seemed to have no answer to that. Something seemed to occur to the Doctor. "Oh, so that's what the Master meant." he said bitterly. "Well your little team's been sent off the the Himalayas."

"What?" Jack frowned, but the Doctor didn't explain further.

"Why?" I prompted, confused.

"The Master sent them there." the Doctor answered, not even glancing at me. "Whether or not you were 'helping' the world, you still put Alli in danger."

"Wait, it's not... I mean, it's not _completely_ Jack's fault." I stepped in guiltily. "I kind of... begged him to let me join. But you should've told me about Rose!" I added, shooting a glare at Jack. "And, Doctor, I wouldn't have had to join if you hadn't left me here!" I reminded him.

The Doctor sat back down and pulled the laptop onto his knees. I glared at Jack again before sitting back down in defeat, and Jack did the same seconds later. No one said a word.

"If I haven't returned to my desk by 2200 hours, this file will be emailed to Torchwood." a woman's voice sounded form the computer screen. We all gathered around the Doctor to watch it, avoiding each others' eyes. "Which means, if you're watching this, then I'm…" the woman broke off, but we all guessed what she meant. "Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started. When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network." the elderly woman explained to us from her desk somewhere, and the video ended. A picture of the Earth flashed up, surrounded by satellites.

"What's the Archangel Network?" the Doctor asked in a strained voice.

Martha pulled out her phone. "I've got Archangel. Everyone's got it."

"It's the mobile phone network." Jack explained, pointing at the image on the screen. "'Cause, look, it's gone worldwide. They've got 15 satellites in orbit. Even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel."

The Doctor took Martha's mobile and held the sonic screwdriver against it. "It's in the phones!" he said as realisation hit him. "Oh, I said he was a hypnotist! Wait, wait, wait, hold on." We all watched as the Doctor set the phone down on the table and pressed a button. It began to beep a constant rhythm. 4 beats, then a pause. Beep beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep.

"There it is. That rhythm, it's everywhere. Ticking away in the subconscious.

"What is it, mind control?" Martha asked.

"No, no, no, no." the Doctor said quietly. "Subtler than that. Any stronger and people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code… 'Vote Saxon.' 'Believe in me.' Whispering to the world. Oh, yes! That's how he hid himself from me. 'Cause I should have sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth. I should have known way back. The signal cancelled him out." There he goes again, prattling on about his special Time Lord senses that I don't have.

"Any way you can stop it?" Jack asked.

"Not from down here. But now we know how he's doing it." the Doctor replied confidently.

"And we can fight back?" Martha asked him.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor cried ecstatically.

He took Martha's mobile phone apart and fiddled around with the pieces. Jack, Martha and I watched with interest as he disassembled the laptop too, and used the sonic screwdriver to fuse parts of each machine together.

The work continued for hours, and each one seemed to pass more slowly than the next. At some point, he took our keys to the TARDIS from us and began fusing different bits of metal and wiring to them. I was lost by then.

It was when he started humming a tune to himself absently that I decided it was time to talk. I took a deep breath, and while Jack and Martha were talking amongst themselves and the Doctor was staring into the sky with two keys in his hands, I wandered over to his 'workstation'.

"So…" I began awkwardly, edging over to him with my back to the other two. "You know... you still owe me an explanation."

The Doctor looked at me immediately. He frowned, then looked troubled. He didn't have to ask what I meant.

"Right." he said slowly, and set the keys down in front of him. He patted the seat by his side and I sat down nervously, not sure if I wanted to know that badly after all. With a deep breath, the Doctor turned to look at me and smiled sadly.

We had a long night ahead of ourselves.

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A/N: Part Two will be up soon...


	38. Telling Stories Part Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own sadness either, which is what I am now, after watching Doomsday _again_.**

A/N: Here's part two, and Alli finds out the truth. It could get slightly boring, but I wanted to make sure I included everything I needed to.

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_**Previously...  
**__"So…" I began awkwardly, edging over to him with my back to the other two. "You know... you still owe me an explanation."  
The Doctor looked at me immediately. He frowned, then looked troubled. He didn't have to ask what I meant.  
"Right." he said slowly, and set the keys down in front of him. He patted the seat by his side and I sat down nervously, not sure if I wanted to know that badly after all. With a deep breath, the Doctor turned to look at me and smiled sadly.  
We had a long night ahead of ourselves._

**Telling Stories - Part Two**

He gave me an explanation. We sat down, and put everything else aside, and the Doctor told me what happened to Rose.

"Like I said, I had… a feeling." he began slowly with a sigh, and I was immediately wide awake and ready to listen, the tears lying in wait behind my eyes. "I knew _something_ was about to happen - something terrible. When you got - well, when we left you in 2007, we really did think it was 2022. We were just going to leave you with Jackie, for the week, just like normal, sort out the problem, then come back to get you for the weekend." The Doctor let out a heavy sigh and continued cautiously. "Rose and I went travelling for a while, and I hoped that this problem would appear at some point.

"We travelled for weeks, months maybe, and nothing terrible happened. We were fine, but I could still tell… something was going to go wrong. Then, on one trip, we came across a… war zone. Three alien tribes, fighting for years on end across this… this beautiful marble planet. Three _massive_ civilisations, unable to communicate, unable to find peace, for literally, decades. And we helped them; we… ended the war, but at a cost." The Doctor paused and looked down at the floor, then sniffed and looked back up at me. When he started to speak again, his voice was coarse and bitter.

"Before we arrived, there were over 2000 lives lost, every day. And we saw the war. We saw the deaths of thousands before we were able to step in. And we sat, and watched, and waited for them to stop, but it took days. Weeks, even. We couldn't do anything to stop them; they just kept on fighting, until there wasn't even a reason, just because they must.

"Rose took it the worst. I had seen it before, war, and death, and hate, and so much worse. But Rose… she couldn't have imagined the disaster, even in her nightmares. Could you?" I shook my head numbly, suddenly aware of my tear-filled eyes as the cold wind whipped against my face.

"She couldn't cope. And I don't blame her, even for a second. As soon as the war had ended, we flew home. But not to you, even though we thought the danger was over. Rose was in a state of devastation. She… didn't want you to see her. So after a few days - give or take - had passed in the TARDIS, and Rose still hadn't really recovered, she asked if we could to 2006, the year before you were born, to see Jackie. We figured... because Rose didn't look _that_ much older, Jackie wouldn't notice anything was different. And she didn't... well, not really. Okay, she did, but she didn't say anything at first.

"We thought we were safe; we thought the danger had already passed. But we were there for just minutes before Jackie told us about the ghosts... You see, Torchwood has been around for centuries, Alli. Rose and I were actually the reason for it's formation. You remember Rose telling you about the werewolf, and Queen Victoria?"

I grimaced. That tale had been told to me when I was just a toddler, and had given me nightmares for days. I remembered talking to Sarah Jane about Torchwood, before I'd even met Jack, and I smiled. "Sure."

"Well, Queen Victoria formed the Torchwood organisation to keep me - and Rose - away from Earth. And d'you remember anything about the Parallel World?" he added, before I could interrupt.

"Yeah. Cybermen, right?" I ventured. "Where Mickey is."

"Yeah. Mickey, Jake and Pete were helping defeat them there." the Doctor agreed. "And the Daleks?"

I looked carefully into his eyes to study his expression. The Daleks had always been a delicate subject.

"I know…" I began tentatively. "That they were in the Time War, and -"

"Very good." the Doctor cut me off with a humourless smile. "Well, there were four… special Daleks." he continued, staring slightly to the left of me, as if he was in a trance. "The Cult of Skaro. They had escaped the Time War and hidden in a Void Ship. The Void is -"

"- the space between worlds. Hell. Yeah, I remember." I finished for him. "And a Void Ship, what, it travels through?"

"Yeah. The Daleks had forced their way into our world using the Void Ship, and the Cybermen had followed their path, through the Void and into our world. But it took masses of energy. Torchwood London built the Canary Wharf tower, to reach the disturbance, since it was so high up. Torchwood was opening the breach between our world and the Void in order to harness the power, but each time they did, the Cybermen fell through.

"That day, Rose and I went to Torchwood. The rest, well, it's a long story, but the Cybermen and Daleks attacked. Mickey, Jake and Pete came through behind them with some others from the parallel world, to help fight, but there were too many. We thought they'd won."

"What, four Daleks and a couple of Cybermen?" I frowned.

"Four Daleks… and a Time Lord prison ship full of them. Millions. And an army of Cybermen capable of upgrading the universe."

My eyes widened with shock. I hadn't imagined the battle to be on such a big scale.

But everything that travels through the Void picks up this background radiation - Void stuff." I snorted, but he ignored me. "Every time the breach was opened, the Cybermen came through, so I came up with a plan. If we opened the Void completely, the breach could work the other way. The Cybermen and Daleks would get sucked back into the Void." He paused, and my mind began to work.

"But… you'd travelled through the Void."

"And so had Mickey, and Pete, and the others." he continued for me. "So I sent them back." He looked away from me, and I could hear something different in his voice, but he continued talking nonetheless.

"I was only opening the breach from this side, then it would close, and both the Void and the parallel world would be shut off forever. So… Pete took his team back. Him, Mickey, Jake, they all left. He tried to get Jackie to go with them, but she wouldn't leave Rose. And Rose wouldn't leave me - us. I sent Jackie to the TARDIS, to safety, but Rose wouldn't leave my side." The Doctor's voice grew quiet, so much so that I had to lean in to catch what he was saying. He sniffed loudly. "So, we opened the Void and used these… magnaclamp things to secure ourselves, so we wouldn't fall in too. The breach opened, and the Daleks and the Cybermen were sucked into Hell. But then…" He looked up suddenly, but not at me. And I saw that his eyes were glistening, on the verge on tears. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen my father like that, and to be honest, it scared me more than the thought of the Daleks.

"The lever…" he said in almost a whisper. "One of the levers controlling the breach, it started to slip. It unlocked, went offline. Rose was closer - she had to let of the clamp to pull it back up, but she only had the lever to hold onto. And she couldn't hold on. She…"

"She fell." I finished for him, my voice as coarse as his. "Into the Void."

"No!" the Doctor said, startled, looking directly at me. "Pete came back, just at the right moment. I don't know how he managed it… but he saved her. So she's in the parallel world. Trapped there."

"Forever." I added weakly, feeling my own eyes well up. The Doctor patted the stone next to him, and I moved across feebly. He wrapped his arm around me as I buried my face in his suit. I felt my shiver, and then the Doctor's heavy, warm coat fell onto my back. I pulled it around myself and waited.

I don't know what I was waiting for, or whether I even knew. I suppose, in the end, I was just waiting for a feeling other than sadness or pain to rescue me. I heard the Doctor sniffing, and I suppose he must have been crying, though it seems so hard to imagine.

"Alli," he began delicately after a few minutes of silence. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about." He pulled away gently and I looked up at him, wiping my sleeve across my eyes.

"Yeah?" I prompted, my voice hoarse.

"Well, the Master is... dangerous. Obviously." He avoided my eyes as he spoke. "I... I don't want you near him." he blurted out, looking straight at me only after he had said it.

"What?"

"Look, you've got to understand, you're not like... us." The Doctor winced, and I sensed this was a sensitive subject. "You're half-human. And that's not bad!" he added quickly, "Just... different. And I don't like the idea of you being around another Time Lord, especially the Master."

"But I can help, I can -"

"Alli, please."

"No! I'm not just gonna sit back and watch while you go off saving the world! Besides, I'm safer with you and Jack than I am on my own."

The Doctor seemed unable to argue with that. He sighed in defeat. "Fine, but you're to stay out of trouble and in my sight. You don't know how powerful he is."

"So tell me." I urged him.

The Doctor paused, then shook his head, pulling me back towards his body as I shivered. "Not now." he spoke softly. "Not yet."

- - - - - - -

"Jackie was livid, I tell you." he said with a feeble chuckle some time later. "Ready to slap me to the other side of the Earth."

I smiled at that. Then I frowned, as something occurred to me.

"But…" I began with a soft voice, phrasing my question in my head first as I looked up out of puffy pink eyes. "Jackie's been looking after me since 2007. If this happened in 2006..."

"Then she knew all along." the Doctor confirmed. "I couldn't tell her what had happened - what _would_ happen - with Rose and you and myself, all I could do was warn her that she'd see us again. And that she couldn't tell us what was going to happen."

"But, if she knew, she could have stopped it! She could have told you not to let Rose -"

"Timelines." the Doctor stopped me. "You don't know how many times I've wondered, about asking her to do that, but it was risky enough that we crossed our timelines in the first place. If she'd stopped it from happening…"

The Doctor didn't have to finish. I remembered the story about the alien Reapers that had come to 'mend time' after Rose had saved her dad, years ago.

Maybe I would have considered it more if I'd had enough energy, or the will to think. Instead, it was all I could do to sit there.

"We can never see her again." I said slowly, trying to process the fact.

"No." the Doctor sighed sadly, his voice choked. "Well…" He looked down at me uneasily, and shifted about on the stone. I motioned for him to continue. "I… did see her one more time."

I looked up in alarm and almost fell from my seat. "What?!"

"Well… there was a gap, the tiniest of gaps, in the breach. It… it took the power of a Supernova, but I sent a projection to her in the parallel world. I would have come back for you, I was going to, to let you say goodbye, but… there just wasn't the time. The gap was closing; the whole world was sealing off. Like I said, it took the power of a Supernova just to keep it open for two more minutes. I'm sorry. So I said goodbye. For both of us. She said to tell you she loves you, but you know that already. We… talked. She's living - well, at least I s'pose she still is - with Pete and Mickey. A proper family."

"Don't say that." I whispered tearfully, not sure if he could even hear me. "We were her family. They aren't. She's all alone." The Doctor seemed to silently agree.

"Oh, poor Jackie…" I breathed out after a moment. "She knew; all this time, she knew. No wonder she treated me like a second daughter. No wonder she got so upset when we left."

We sat in silence for some time; neither of us aware how much had passed. It didn't seem to matter anymore. Not the Master, of the sphere things, or even Martha.

Rose was gone. And at that moment, it didn't even matter that I was missing her.

She was still alive. But without the Doctor, and without her family. And we would never see each other again.

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A/N: Kind of depressing, but what can I say? Review?

Oh, and does no one else find it weird that everything - _everything_- that had been through the Void (Cybermen, Daleks, prison ship) got sucked into Hell/transported out (minus the Doctor due to the magnaclamp), and yet the TARDIS was completely 100% unaffected...?


	39. Castle In The Clouds? Not Quite,,,

**Disclaimer: -disclaimer goes here-**

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, and as a treat (well, kind of)... It's the Valiant! -cheers-

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**Castle In The Clouds? Not Quite...**

It was in the darkness of midnight that the Doctor called Martha, Jack and I back over.

"Four TARDIS keys." The Doctor said, presenting us with our TARDIS keys. "Four pieces of the TARDIS with low-level perception properties, because the TARDIS is designed to blend in." I snorted. "Well, sort of, but… Now! The Archangel Network's got a second low-level signal. Weld the key to the network and… Martha?" he looked up to Martha and took a step back, "Look at me. You can see me, yes?"

"Yep." Martha said confidently. The Doctor slipped a length of string holding one of the keys over his head. For a second, nothing happened, then I looked to Martha and saw her head turned, ever so slightly to the left. She blinked and turned her head back, only for it to veer off to the left again. Jack chuckled, and I had to restrain myself from laughing.

"No, I'm here." the Doctor said cheekily. "Look at me."

"It's like… I know you're there, but I don't _want_ to know." Martha said, squinting slightly as if to make sense of it all.

"And back again." The Doctor removed the key from around his neck, and Martha looked directly at him again. "See? It just shifts your perception a tiny little bit. Doesn't make us invisible, just unnoticed." He began to walk away. "Oh, I know what it's like." he added with a smile, turning back around. "It's like - it's like when you fancy someone, and they don't even know you exist. That's what it's like. Come on!"

I ran after the Doctor, and heard Jack mutter something to Martha behind me.

"You too, huh?" it sounded like. I took the Doctor's hand in mine as we walked towards the exit of the alley and he gave it a comforting squeeze. He might have fooled the others into believing he knew what he was doing, but I'd seen that expression before. He was terrified, and he knew I was too. Whoever this Master guy was, he meant trouble.

"Don't run." the Doctor warned us as we slipped out of the alley and pulled the keys gently over our heads. "Don't shout. Just keep your voice down. Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows."

"Like ghosts." Jack suggested, and the Doctor nodded.

"Yeah, that's what we are." he agreed. "Ghosts."

- - - - - - -

Somehow, Jack's Vortex Manipulator managed to find the Master for us, and off we headed. We ended up in the freezing cold of night in some sort of rendezvous for the Master and the President, where the two leaders talked for a while, before President Winters was driven away and a police van turned up.

Out of the van, came (what I assumed was) Martha's family. Martha immediately froze, and the Master bounded over to the police car. The prisoners were taken out of the van and led over to a Land Rover.

"Hi, guys!" Saxon cried ecstatically as they were dragged along. "All will be revealed!"

"Oh, my God." Martha breathed from my side. I couldn't look away from her family on the other side of the tarmac.

"Don't move." the Doctor warned her quietly.

"But…"

"Don't." he said firmly, and Martha became quiet. The family was thrown into the car.

"I'm gonna kill 'im." she spat.

"Say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?" Jack suggested, his voice hard.

The Doctor looked across, his expression just as solid. "Now _that _sounds like Torchwood." he said, calmly but viciously.

"Still a good plan." Jack shrugged.

"He's a Time Lord, which makes him my responsibility." the Doctor told us. "I'm not here to kill him. I'm here to save him."

I shot him a sideways glance, but he didn't elaborate.

On my other side, Jack was studying his Vortex Manipulator. "Aircraft carrier _Valiant_." he said quietly. "It's a UNIT ship at 28.2N and 10.02E."

"How do we get onboard?" Martha asked him.

"Does that thing work as a teleport?" asked the Doctor, and Jack nodded.

"Since you revamped it, yeah. Co-ordinates set." he added, pressing some buttons.

Why had we _walked_ all the way here then?!

The Doctor and Martha huddled around Jack, and we all reached for the device on his wrist. After a moment, the familiar but uncomfortable feeling of impossible pressure compressed my body and my eyes forced themselves shut.

Oh yeah. _That's_ why we walked.

"God!" I exclaimed involuntarily as I let go of Jack's wrist and pulled my eyes open.

"Oh, that thing is rough." I heard Martha say as I looked around at the spinning room. It was made up of reds and ambers, I could tell that much. As everything came back into focus, I realised we must be near some kind of engine room.

"I've has worse nights." Jack was saying in reply to Martha as he stretched his neck with a groan "Welcome to the Valiant."

Martha walked over to a porthole in the wall. We followed, to escape the billows of smoke coming from the engine room behind us. "It's dawn." She turned to Jack. "Hold on, I thought this was a ship. Where's the sea?"

I snorted. "Don't be stupid."

"A ship for the 21st Century." Jack explained. "Protecting the skies of planet Earth."

And sure enough, as we gazed out of the tiny porthole, beyond the runway outside the window, there was nothing but fluffy white clouds and clear blue sky to be seen.

Strangely enough, I found it quite difficult to appreciate the full beauty of the situation. I wonder why...?

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A/N: Getting on to Last Of The Time Lords soon! Exciting stuff.

Oooh, just out of curiosity, regarding the Year That Never Was: Would people like me to skip over it, as done in the series, or write it? I was planning on inventing some fantastic plot twist, but so far I've not been able to think of anything remotely good. What are your thoughts?


	40. The First Death Of Many

**Disclaimer: I share the ownership of nothing with all my fellow fans. Because I'm nice like that.**

A/N: Close to finale time!

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**The First Death Of Many**

So, here we were, standing in the main conference room of the Valiant, with cameras and world leaders and reporters and soldiers, and we were completely and utterly invisible. We had found the TARDIS on board the Valiant, fully equipped with a Paradox Machine, which I half understood the relevance of, though, like the others, I didn't know what it was being used for. We were just waiting for 'first contact', 8 o'clock, and for the Paradox Machine to be activated at 8:02.

"This plan," Jack began, looking at the Doctor. I cringed, almost waiting for someone to turn around and see us, but it never happened. "You gonna tell us?"

"If I can get this around the Master's neck..." the Doctor began, holding out his own perception filtering key. "Cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real. It's just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me..." he paused and looked at each of us. "You've got a key."

He avoided my eyes at this point, and my mouth hung slightly open as I realised what he was saying. "But -"

**"**Yes sir." Jack confirmed, and the Doctor nodded.

"I'll get him." Martha agreed.

I swallowed, and we all turned to face the front of the room, where President Winters was making a speech.

"Okay." I agreed weakly, but the Doctor turned to me and gave me a look that clearly said 'Not you'.

"And I ask you now, I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends." Winters was saying to a camera in a strong American accent. "I give you... the Toclafane." We all looked up as several metallic spheres surrounded him in the air. "My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President-Elect of the United States of America, and designated representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to the planet Earth and its associated moon."

"You're not the Master." said a male voice, coming from one of the spheres.

"We like the Mr Master." a female voice added chidingly, supposedly from the other sphere.

"We don't like _you_." the first sphere finished firmly. I frowned at the exchange.

"I... can be 'Master', if you so wish. I will accept mastery over you if that is God's will." Winters said hastily.

"Man is stupid." the female sphere - or at least, the sphere with a female voice - said, almost giggling.

**"**Master is our friend." the male spoke.

"Where's my Master, pretty please?"

"Oh, all right then. It's me!" the Master cried, standing up as everyone turned to look at him. "Ta-da! Sorry," he laughed, "Sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's crazy!"

"Nutter." I muttered, more just to convince myself that I was still standing here.

**"**Saxon, what are you talking about?" Winters fumed.

The Master turned to face the President with a serious face. "I'm taking control, Uncle Sam. Starting with you." He looked to the spheres with a menacing glare. "Kill him."

My eyes widened as one of the sphere's shell was pierced from the inside and sharp blades appeared on the object. A red light shot out of the creature, straight into the president, and the man disintegrated away, leaving no trace of existence behind. A gasp caught in my throat, but Jack's hand on my arm cautioned me to keep silent. The rest of the room, unrestrained, was turned into madness. Everyone except the Master, his wife, and the guards, were rushing to the door, screaming, but to no avail. The Doctor edged forwards, his hand on the key. My breath caught in my throat.

The Master laughed. "Guards!" he called, and the soldiers pulled out their weapons. I looked to the Doctor nervously. If he was going to do this he had to be quick. 8:02. We must have had less than a minute. If he waited much longer, he'd be caught for sure, and it would be too late to stop the Master.

"Nobody move!" were the shouts that could now be heard over the screaming. "Nobody move!"

Sure enough, everybody froze. My thoughts beat out a rhythm in my head as I silently urged the Doctor. _Now, go, come on, do it, faster, do it, now!_

The Master, grinning gleefully, looked down into one of the video cameras broadcasting to the world. "Now then," he spoke into the lens, "Peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully -"

The Doctor ran for it. He bounded across the room to the Master, his key in his hand, but my eyes were on the Master. He had already seen.

"No!" I shrieked as the Master grimaced, but Jack's arm resumed it's earlier position, firm this time.

"Stop him!" a guard shouted, and two soldiers ran over and held the Doctor still, on the floor. He was forced to kneel. I raised my hand to my mouth, not caring if anybody saw us now. They couldn't kill him. They just couldn't.

"We meet at last, Doctor." the Master said, with an even bigger grin than before. "Oh ho," he laughed, "I love saying that!"

"Stop this!" the Doctor begged, and even from behind him, I could see the anguish on his face. "Stop it now!"

"As if a perception filter's gonna work on me." the Master laughed, ignoring the Doctor's pleas. He looked up to us, and I froze instinctively. Jack's hold weakened on my arm. "Oh and look, it's the... now, hold on a minute." the Master smiled evilly at me and looked down at the Doctor, who glanced up at me furiously, trying with all his might to escape the clutched of the guards.

"Oh, but this is just too precious." the Master said menacingly. I felt the blood running through my viens turn to ice. "A child? A child of _Gallifrey_?" The Doctor tried to look back at me desperately, but I wasn't looking at him. The Master was studying me curiously; he moved forward ever so slightly. "And so young... But that's not it... Oh - _that_..." he frowned at the Doctor, revolted as he worked out my heritage. "Is wrong." My blood boiled, but I knew I couldn't move. "_That_ - is disgusting, Doctor." he spat, shaking his head in disdain. I felt my blood boil and heat crept up my face.

"So here you are..." he said, still grimacing as he looked over to me, Jack and Martha. "The baby, the girlie and the freak. Although, I'm not sure which one's which."

Jack ran forward to the Master, but in one movement, our enemy reached out, and Jack was hit with a beam of yellow light. I gasped as Jack fell to the floor, and rushed to his side, regardless of the guards. He had fallen to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"What have you done?" I whispered, brushing a strand of Jack's hair out of his eyes.

"_Laser_ screwdriver," the Mater said, and held the device up, "Who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!" he said ecstatically. Martha rushed over to me and Jack, and I looked up to the Master, holding onto Jack's arm with all my strength as if that could save me from the guards and the Master.

"Master, just calm down." the Doctor asked him desperately. "Just look at what you're doing. Just stop! If you could see yourself..."

The Master gave a dramatic sigh and looked into the camera. "Oh, do excuse me, little bit of personal business. Back in a minute." He looked at the guards holding the Doctor. "Let him go."

The guards let go of the Doctor's arms, pushing him to the floor. He sat up and looked directly at the Doctor.

"It's that sound, the sound in your head." the Doctor said heavily. "What if I could help?"

"Oh, how to shut him up?" the Master said mockingly, mimicking a mouth with his hand. "I know, memory lane!" He sat down on the step in front of the Doctor."Professor Lazarus." he started. I didn't recognise the name. "Remember him? And his genetic manipulation device? Did you think that little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver..." he stood up and put on an expression of confusion. "But, ooh, if I only had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute, I do!" the Master bolted over to a large silver case and pulled out the jar holding the Doctor's hand. "I've got his hand!" he cried triumphantly. "And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it? Say, another hundred years?"

I can only remember screaming as the Master held the laser screwdriver up to point at the Doctor's body. A thick beam of yellow shot out from it into his body, and his movements became a blur as he was pulled to his feet through pure force. He writhed and screamed in pain, a hundred times faster than was normal. I covered my mouth with my hands but couldn't tear my eyes away from the horrific sight in front of me.

Jack revived, pulling on my arm as he did so, and looked straight at me, then across to the Doctor.

"Teleport." he said weakly, passing something discreetly to Martha. I felt beads of water trickle into my hands as I stared on at the agonising picture in front of me.

"I can't." I heard Martha whisper over the Doctor's screams.

"We can't stop him." Jack urged her. "Get out of here. Take Alli and get out!" I looked down at the mention of my name, then across to Martha, who was holding Jack's vortex manipulator, then back up to the Doctor, who was lying, defeated, in a crumpled heap on the cold wooden floor. The Master's arm returned to his side. My mouth formed the shape of an 'O' as the Doctor tried to sit up, his skin leathery and wrinkled. I understood what the Master had done. The Doctor had aged 100 years. I closed my mouth as Martha shuffled over to him, unable to move.

"Doctor, I've got you." I heard Martha whisper to the Doctor, their figures a blur through my tears.

"Aw, she's a would-be doctor." the Master cooed, happy with his work on the Doctor. "But tonight, Martha Jones, we've flown 'em in, all the way from prison -"

The door behind us slid open, and I glanced round to see three people being pushed out into the room.

"I'm sorry." the oldest woman cried out to Martha. I looked back down to Jack, still clutching his arm, as the Doctor began to talk to the Master.

"You have to go." Jack whispered to me. I blinked, wiping my damp cheeks with the back of my free hand.

"No way." I whispered angrily. "I'm not leaving you."

"You _have_ to." Jack insisted. "I'll be fine. You go, find the others, help Martha."

"But -"

"Go! Alli, you can't stay here, he'll kill you."

"Jack!" I looked at him desperately, my eyes pleading with him. "But... you! And the Doctor! I... I can't _leave_ you!" But I looked over to the Doctor and Martha, with the Master stood over them, and I knew he was right.

"Is the machine singing?" I heard one of the 'Toclafane' creatures ask in the distance, though it was only metres away. I looked down to Jack.

"Two minutes past." the Master announced. Jack seemed to urge me to leave. I couldn't face the sight of Jack being hurt, but what else could I do for him?

"So!" the Master shouted, getting mine and Jack's attention. "Earthings! Basically, um... end of the world!" He held up the laser screwdriver and I flinched. "Here… come… the drums!" He shouted fiercely, and showers of spheres began to cascade down the windows, falling outside the ship towards Earth.

"Come with us." I whispered urgently to Jack as the Master and his wife watched out of a window.

"I can't." Jack said through gritted teeth. "Alli, just go! I'll be fine, I'll look after the Doctor, but you and Martha have to go!"

I looked over to the Doctor's weak figure; he was whispering something in Martha's ear. She seemed to be heartbroken, but stood up and backed away from him. The Doctor looked over to me, his aged, wrinkled face frowning with pain, and he nodded with a sad, weak smile. I nodded back slowly through my tears and looked back to Jack. Martha, by my side now, was shaking, and looked over to her family for comfort.

With one last look at Jack, I quickly pressed my lips to his, caring not for whether the Doctor was watching, or what Jack thought of it. I felt tears on my skin as we parted - mine, I assumed. "I love you."

I stood, without looking back, and held my hand on top of the vortex manipulator in Martha's hand. She looked at me worriedly. I nodded, and she nodded back.

We took a deep breath of air, and both pressed down on the device. As we disappeared, I heard a distant voice behind me.

When we reappeared, in a field below the Valiant, I felt no nausea or headache. Looking up into the sky, I stepped back with horror as I saw the thousands of spheres hurtling towards the Earth above us, firing lasers into the ground. I looked to Martha, sprawled on the ground, and led the way into the forest behind us.

"Come on!" I yelled back at her as she stared at the destruction in front of us. "_Martha_!"

The words tasted bitter on my lips as the wind bit against my skin. The last words I had heard onboard the Valiant still echoed in my head.

_"Me too."_

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A/N: Last of The Time Lords now!!! Woop!


	41. The Impossible Quest

**Disclaimer: You know when you see something in the corner of your eye, then you look and there's nothing there? That's what I own.**

A/N: Okay. so there's a year long gap between two episodes. It's my duty to fill that gap. Enjoy.

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**The Impossible Quest**

"So..." I started grumpily, staring around at the forest we were hidden inside before resting my gaze on Martha. "What's the plan?"

I was quite clearly unhappy with the situation. It had been a grand total of three hours since the President had been assassinated on-board the Valiant, but Martha and I had been trawling through a forest for what seemed like days before settling in a small covering, deep in the woods.

"Well, we do what the Doctor told me, I suppose." Martha said quietly, not too happy with our predicament either.

"You think that'll work?" I asked doubtfully, and she shrugged.

"Don't you trust your dad?" she frowned, and I gave her a sour glare.

"Of course I trust the Doctor," I told her with narrowed eyes. "I'd trust him with my life. Well, I _have_ done. I still do. But that doesn't mean it'll work. If you haven't noticed, the Doctor's very good at improvising. He usually _uses _his plan Bs."

Martha didn't answer, and I sighed guiltily. "So we've got to travel 'round the world together?" I started again. "For a year? And tell everyone to think about the Doctor at the specific point when the Master's countdown ends?"

"Yep." Martha said slowly, and I couldn't tell she didn't like the idea any more than I did. I nodded slowly, toying with the idea in my head.

"And we've got to pretend we're looking for some gun to kill the Master with, in case of spies?"

"Yep." she repeated.

"Well, we can't do that! Not on our own!" I exclaimed, the realisation dawning on me for the first time.

"We'll have to have some sort of a system." she nodded.

"A system?!" I cried disbelievingly. "You think we can tell 6 billion people about the Doctor in a year if we use a _system_?"

She opened her mouth to argue, but faltered. "No. But there's gotta be a way!"

I didn't answer.

"What if we... got a message out." Martha suggested. "To London - they could transmit it to the rest of the world and we could tell everyone that way!"

I snorted sceptically. "What, with the Master listening in on everything, and communication cut off for half the world, and the Archangel network monitoring the other half? I don't think so." I paused. "Then again... if we used that idea... if we only hit... Yeah! We hit the main cities. London, Birmingham, Glasgow, you know, those kinds of areas. We'll spread the word there, and select people to pass it on from each city. There must be groups of people willing to help. We get whoever we can, and designate them areas to travel to."

"You don't think they'll be noticed by the spheres?" Martha pointed out.

I looked down at the key hung around my neck, the perception filter hiding me from the spheres' sight.

"Crap."

And the silence returned.

"But what about the Doctor? What about Jack?" I asked after a while, knowing full well she didn't have an answer. "I didn't even get to say goodbye." I added bitterly, as I thought back to the last events on board the Valiant. "My own dad. I might never see 'im again, and I was too wrapped up in..." The image of the Doctor, crumpled in a heap on the floor, sent a pain through my mind, and I trailed off when I realised who I was talking to.

She seemed to follow my trail of thought, and asked a question of her own instead.

"If you don't mind me askin', who exactly is Jack?"

I smiled sadly, not having particularly wanted an answer to my own question anyway. "It's a long story."

"We've got a whole year." she pointed out.

"Well, we'd better save it for the journey then." I replied, and neither of us spoke for a moment.

"Are you an' him...?" she asked suddenly, trailing off in anticipation that I knew the question.

"Doesn't matter." I said shortly. That came out wrong - it was supposed to sound more like 'Mind your own business.'

Oh well, she seemed to take the hint anyway, as she didn't speak again.

"We need to make a stop in Cardiff before we leave England." I informed her suddenly.

"Why's that?"

"That's where Torchwood's based." I said with raised eyebrows. Did she pay attention to anything at all?

"But the Master said -"

"The Master was probably lying." I interrupted her, not wanting to believe that the others had been sent away to the Himalayas. I'd kill him myself if anything happened to them. Martha didn't argue, though she didn't seem to agree either.

I was already feeling slightly more upbeat at the thought of seeing Ianto again, and Toshiko. And sure, I didn't much like Gwen or Owen, but they were still a kind of... second family. My thoughts trailed off to Sarah Jane, and Maria, Luke and Clyde. I wondered whether they were okay, and hoped to the Gods they would survive.

"I wonder where we are." Martha started quietly.

"Yeah." I replied vaguely, my thoughts still focused on Torchwood and Sarah Jane. "Somewhere near London, I think."

She nodded slowly, contemplating. "Are we setting off tonight then? We can't really stay here."

"What else is there to do?" I shrugged. "When we get to Torchwood, we can let the others know what's happening, get supplies, and head off as soon as we can."

"And if they're not there?" Martha asked.

"They will be."

- - - - - - -

They weren't.

When we approached the Hub the following day at dawn (after spending numerous hours travelling from the forest and five hours at a disgusting one-star hotel - I've been in prisons with better accommodation), Ianto was not in the Tourist Office - so we couldn't get in that way. No one replied on the comms system, as had been the situation all night.

I cursed under my breath, walking over to the Invisible Lift and beckoning Martha over. I pressed a few buttons on Jack's Vortex Manipulator, hoped for the best, and activated the lift. To Martha's astonishment (and my pleasant surprise) the lift moved down slowly into the Hub.

Myfanwy was the first thing we saw as we descended into the Hub. Incidentally, Martha seemed to deny the existence of Myfanwy. I was slightly offended for her, but then again, she _is _a Pterodactyl, so I could see Martha's point. Even if Myfanwy was blatantly real.

"Tosh?" I called out as I jumped off the platform. Martha followed me cautiously. "Owen? Ianto? Gwen?"

No reply.

"Anyone?" I shouted out, but still nothing. I walked around the place curiously, inspecting the messy piles of paperwork and various instruments scattered across the floor.

"Bloody 'ell..." I muttered, surveying the mess. "What happened here?"

I looked around the entire Hub for any clue as to the team's whereabouts. I searched the place - with little help from Martha - for equipment. Toshiko's laptop was gone. Owen's medical equipment was missing. Gwen's guns weren't there.

The coffee machine was empty. I felt faint. Something terrible must have happened here.

"The Master wasn't lying." I told Martha, in answer to her questioning stare. "They're gone. We're on our own."

- - - - - - -

And so the impossible quest began.

* * *

A/N: I know it's pretty uneventful, but I was having a bit of trouble with my sub-plot. Let me know what you think - would you rather I skipped the YTNW, or would you like me to write my sub-plot idea?


	42. A Friendship Is Formed

**Disclaimer: Well, I now own the Series 4 Soundtrack, but not yet the show. Darn.**

A/N: Wow. Just realised I have 182 reviews. That's pretty cool. If I reach 200 you can all have a chibi!Jack. =D Enjoy.

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**A Friendship Is Formed**

We journeyed in silence for the most part. We had settled on a plan of travelling through the UK and spreading the message through word of mouth, then working around the world clockwise until we ran out of time. We weren't exactly sure how many people we actually needed to tell about the Doctor, but we knew full well we wouldn't get to everyone.

I suggested a visit to Sarah Jane, but Martha refused, saying we had 'Too much work to do'. That was until I mentioned Sarah Jane's 'contacts'. Okay, okay, I might have slightly twisted the truth. Well, a little more than 'slightly'. But I had to see her, didn't I?

So after a week or two in Scotland and northern England, we travelled down to London (it seems we had been further north than I thought) to see Sarah Jane. I was planning on a quick trip to check on her, Maria, Luke and Clyde, but Martha was under the impression that Sarah Jane could get into contact with UNIT, who would then be able to help us spread the word. In my defence, Sarah Jane _had_ mentioned UNIT once or twice, so I wasn't _really_ lying.

Our short visit turned into a weekend, and then it was a week before we left. It turns out I was right in asking for Sarah Jane's help. She _did_ have contacts in UNIT after all, and we negotiated for a while and came up with a plan. To be honest, I was really paying much attention in my constantly worried and sleep-deprived state. Basically, UNIT had patrols all over the world, and they were going to spread the word using a special type of communication unheard of by the Master.

In the meantime, while the final details were agreed on by Martha, Sarah Jane and someone called the Brigadier, I caught up with Maria and Luke, though I didn't see Clyde.

Luke was coping rather well; he seemed to believe it would all be over soon. Maria, on the other hand, was in pieces. I did my best to comfort her, but couldn't help feeling there should be someone around to comfort me.

That was, of course, until Martha left for supplies, and Sarah Jane and I talked alone. I told her I knew about Rose. I didn't even have the energy to be angry at her for not telling me when she could have done. I suppose, in hindsight, her and Jack did what they thought was best. We talked for a while, sharing our worries and wishes, and chatting about general mundane things - tiny unimportant things that we both knew didn't matter - just to forget the agony; just to remember normality.

I cried the night we left. I don't know whether I was just being emotional, what with the task ahead of Martha and me and the thought of my father and Jack on the Valiant, but I couldn't stop thinking that might be the last time I saw Sarah Jane, Maria and Luke. They tried to get me to stay, Sarah Jane in particular, but I was having none of it. I felt an urge to fight, to do whatever would make the Doctor proud, because really, that was all I had.

It was that same night - the first night we realised that this was really, truly happening - that Martha and I talked. Before that night, I had never really made an effort to get to know her. Maybe I had been too caught up with Rose, maybe it was Jack, maybe it was the Doctor, or maybe it was just me; but from the moment I saw her, where I knew my mother should be, by the Doctor's side in the TARDIS, I'd felt an unimaginable hatred towards her that I could not explain.

It started with a simple "You okay?" This was from Martha, just as we left Sarah Jane's house at midnight. I must have replied with something unintelligable, and then the next minute, she was walking alongside me, her jacket over my shoulders, and we were walking with silent tears of frustration through the desolate streets.

"You really love Jack, don't you?" she asked a while later, when our tears had dried and we were sat around a roaring fire in the fireplace of a long abandoned home.

"Mm-hm." I sighed, wriggling my feet in front of the toasty grate as I pulled a scratchy blanket tighter around my shoulders. It was too much to think of him now. "What 'bout you? Got anyone?" I took her by surprise by asking.

"Oh, well, it - it doesn't really matter." she shrugged.

"Who is it?" I asked, my voice lacking the enthusiasm I had been trying to fake. She shuffled in her seat awkwardly, and I knew immediately her answer.

"Right." I said, my hatred bubbling up uncontrollably once more.

"Sorry." she said hastily, but I shook my head.

"Not your fault." I answered, and of course it wasn't. She couldn't help falling for the Doctor. I tried to hide my feelings, but seemed to fail.

"You know, he talks about Rose all the time." she began gently with a feeble smile.

I smiled back sadly. "Yeah." Not me though.

"All the time..." she repeated, almost silently, to herself.

And suddenly, I saw the world from her perspective. Just a woman. She was just an ordinary woman, a medical student, living her life, and then she'd ended up on the moon (according to her - I think that was the first thing, anyway.) And just that one day, just that single event, had sent her life in a whole new direction.

She loved a man who couldn't let go of the past (which I was, essentially, very content with), and for him, she was risking her life to travel the world and tell his story. And what's more, she was now forced to travel with me, his daughter, a constant reminder of what was forbidden. Her family had been taken. She was all alone. And she, too, had no one to comfort her.

In that same second, I realised what a hypocrite I had been. Here was Martha, supposedly in love with a man who loved someone else, and _I_ was judging _her_? Even though, all this time, here_ I_ was, in love with a man who also loved someone else. And yes, true, the Doctor was my father, and Rose was my mother, but Martha was basically in the same situation as I was. Only I knew how Martha's would end. Because I knew the Doctor, and I knew he'd never love again - he'd never let himself. Me? I had something of a chance with Jack (or at least, I hoped so). But Martha? I think she knew as well as I did that the Doctor could never reciprocate her feelings.

And from that moment on, I found a new friend in Miss Martha Jones.

* * *

A/N: I do still hate S3-Martha, but... well, I just felt it was getting a bit old. I kind of have an idea of what's coming next, but I'm not sure about it. I'll let you know. Review?  
(Sorry EscapingEarth, I know I promised it would be longer, but I got a little sidetracked!)


	43. Sacrifices

**Disclaimer: Basically, anything you recognise isn't mine.**

A/N: Okay, I got mixed reviews about writing TYTNW, so I'm going to compromise. Hope you like it!  
The Japan mention is dedicated to PixieDust493. And all the Simm parts are dedicated to Braceface Freak. The rest is dedicated to all my faithful readers and reviewers! Enjoy!

* * *

**Sacrifices**

For an age, we travelled across the Earth. Months and months went by unnoticed, and we passed through Great Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Russia… The shipyards of Russia - 100,000 rockets, with the human race reduced to slavery as they worked on the ships that would destroy all the planets in the sky. I think at one point, Martha was worried about my sanity. The sights were unbearable; my stomach felt like it was twisting into a knot as we stared out upon all the ruins.

I have to say, despite my prior judgement, I suppose Martha isn't... all that bad. Possibly. I mean, we were never destined to be _best_ friends or anything, but she wasn't so unbearable anymore. And we did a lot of talking. She was quite good at the talking. I ending up telling her the whole deal about me and Jack, and in return she told me all about her and her family. The conversations always seemed to steer away from the subject of the Doctor.

Of course, that was before it all went wrong. About 6 months passed - or, I should say, dragged on - as we travelled the world. Well, I say world; we got to Japan, and were about to leave for Australia, fairly confident that the majority of Europe and Asia had been told of the Doctor's plan. It was lucky we had UNIT on our side, as there was no way we would have reached America in time.

And then disaster struck.

You see, our secret little mission was apparently not so secret after all. On the border of Japan, in the dead of night, just minutes before we were due to set off into the North Pacific Ocean, we were found.

They were waiting for us at the harbour.

"Oh, look who it is." he said. The Master. He stood there like a God; a terrible devil of a God. "The baby and the girlie. At least, I think that's right." He spoke with a horrible smirk that never disappeared. Martha and I had frozen, too exhausted and too shocked to act. We could see several of the Master's guards surrounding us. "Or maybe you're the freak." This was, I presume, directed at me. The night was already black and cold, and I could barely make out his face, but still I felt the heat edge up mine.

"Bag." the Master said simply, harshly, pulling the laser screwdriver out of his pocket. Clearly he'd heard the story of our 'gun'. We each had bags - mine full of our supplies and clothes, Martha's holding the fake particle gun of three parts. We exchanged glances, neither of us sure of what to do. This seemed like the end of the road. Martha stepped forward. "No - just throw it." the Master told her, and she stopped, shrugged off the bag, and was just about to throw it in front of the Master when -

"_ALLI!_" came an almighty roar from behind us. Martha and I turned, expressions of disbelief on our faces, to look at the disturbance. Emerging, one by one over a hill not too far away, was Ianto, Owen and Gwen. My expression lightened, then immediately turned to one of horror when the Master's soldiers turned on them. But Ianto, Gwen - unsurprisingly - and Owen were too quick for them. I pulled Martha down to the ground as the firing began, and shrugged her bag back over her shoulders.

Ianto was carefully aiming at the guards and Owen was shooting casually but professionally, but Gwen ran into the area shouting like a madman (or woman), firing her gun at anyone who moved, bar myself and Martha, thankfully.

"RUN ALLI!" Ianto yelled furiously, and I realised what was happening. It was a diversion. As the shots were fired in both directions (though Torchwood seemed to blend in with the night well enough to dodge all of the bullets sent their way) I pulled Martha back up, just enough so that we could walk. She pointed over towards a huge, blue containment unit (used for storing rocket parts, I assume) right next to the port, and yelled something over the racket of the bullets. Just a few yards away from there lay the ocean. We made a run for it, my legs feeling like jelly as we sprinted, heads down, away from the bullets.

Of course, as Torchwood shot down the guards that had been surrounding us, the Master moved casually closer to them, seeming unperturbed by the inconvenience. Gwen ran at him wildly, and I remember shouting out at her, but the Master flicked out his wrist and a beam of yellow light erupted in the darkness. The area shone, just for a second, but for long enough to see Gwen fall to the ground, heavy and still.

My hands leaped to my mouth, and Owen yelled out, but I saw Ianto pull him back out of the corner of my eye , and Martha tugged on my arm to pull me behind the storage unit.

"This is never gonna work." I rasped urgently. "He's would've seen us run here, he's not stupid."

Martha looked down to the port. "We're gonna have to make another run for it. We get to the shore, and we're safe. Well, not really, but safer than here. We're supposed to be meeting someone from UNIT, Jake-something, and he can take us to Australia. In this pitch black, we might be safe at sea."

I looked at her, exasperated, and stared down at the port, where there was indeed, a number of men waiting by a boat. They must have heard the noise. Maybe they were calling for backup. I sized up the distance. It would take us 8, maybe 10 seconds to get to cover. Would that be quick enough?

"Oh, Martha?" the Master called suddenly. Martha breathed in suddenly, her breath catching in her throat. I looked out around the side of the garage-like structure, and found that - amazingly - the Master wasn't looking at us. Maybe he didn't know we were hiding here after all. "Martha Jo-ones?" he called again in a sing-song voice.

"Okay, fine." I agreed reluctantly. It was our only choice. The Master must have called for backup - they might be here any minute. Still, I longed to rush over to Ianto and Owen. I even felt the urge to see Gwen, even though I had seen her fall, and I knew there was no point denying it. No one could survive that. Well, maybe Jack, but no one human.

We crept to the other side of the metal building, Martha checked the coast was clear, then she counted to three in a whisper, exchanging a nervous glance with me, and she ran. I swallowed my fear and sprinted out after her, not looking back, not stopping, not breathing. My legs were being carried by a mixture of fear and adrenaline.

I didn't see as the Master turned to see us, figures against the black night, blurs moving to the port. We had both known it was a stupid idea, but there was no other option. I didn't see as the Master pointed his sonic screwdriver at us, and I didn't see as the yellow beam of light shot out of the end and into my leg. I only felt it - the unbearable agony that sent my leg buckling to the ground. My hands and face grazed the ground beneath me as I fell, but Martha didn't stop running.

I assume I must have screamed at one point, because the sound echoed in my mind for hours afterwards. I looked up in front of me to see Martha stop as she ran, through watery, blurred vision; maybe she had heard my footsteps falter, or maybe she heard the scream. I clutched at my leg, praying in vain it would put a stop to the pain, but nothing happened.

"Go!" I shrieked at Martha, my voice burning my throat. "Just go!"

Whether or not I imagined the footsteps behind me, and the scream in front of me, and the gunshot to my left, and the singing to my right, I'm not sure. But I know my legs were turning to dust - or at least, that's what it felt like. But then, as they turned to nothing, my hands, still wrapped around them, began to burn. I definitely remember screaming then, as I pulled them towards my face and tried to heave myself up. I got no further than a centimetre off the ground before I realised my legs were just weights on the end of my torso, and my hands soon underwent the same agony.

It was as if pins were sticking into my every limb; every millisecond was filled with an itching desire to pull off my own arm to stop the pain. The burning crept up into my stomach like poison, setting my insides on fire, then up to my chest, and I couldn't breathe as my chest constricted, pushing the air out of my lungs. My body turned limp as my neck and jaw was engulfed, and my voice stopped mid-stream. But still the sound rang through my ears, adding to the dizziness and unbearable images of death in my mind, until that was cut off too. Then the pain was in my head, and I heard nothing, and saw nothing, and felt nothing at all.

And then the world turned to black.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry, but can I just point out that it is physically impossible for Martha to have travelled _all_ the way around the year in just a year. Honestly, the things these writers come up with. -cough cough-  
Uh, sorry about Gwen. I didn't mean to, but... well, chibi!Gwen was bugging me. She wouldn't leave chibi!Jack alone (and chibi!Alli was getting stroppy). It's for her own good, trust me.

Also, if anyone knows: Were half-human Time Lords or half-human Gallifreyans (such as Alli) common, or very rare, in the days before the Time War? Did they exist at all? It's important for future chapters, and it was a bit unclear to me (despite using various sources to try to find an answer), but I wanted to make sure I got it right. Help is much appreciated.


	44. A Prisoner Of Fear

**Disclaimer: Look out into the sky at night... You see all that nothingness out there, beyond the stars and dust? I own that.**

A/N: Quite short, but it leads on to something big.  
(**Chibi!Alli:** You do know that's just an excuse, right...? **Azure:** Don't _make_ me tell you spoilers! **Chibi!Alli:**... -meep-)

* * *

**A Prisoner Of Fear**

When I awoke, my body was numb. The first thing I saw was... well, darkness. A never-ending stream of darkness washing over me, with a bitterly cold wind brushing over my face. Then I realised I could move my lips. Slowly, my hands began to tingle, and I took in a deep breath of cold, bitter air as my chest started to move. Next I opened my eyes. But still, everything was black. I tried to lift my hands to search the darkness for some clue to where I was, but they were too heavy and wouldn't lift off the ground. The floor was cold, and hard. I tried to roll over to push myself up but my legs - my legs wouldn't move; I thrashed about wildly, panicking, trying to wake them up.

I felt no different. I reached up and felt my own dirty blonde hair between my numb fingers. I felt my own straight nose, my own distinct chin, my own skinny arms and my own torso. But surely, that pain, that night of torture - surely they could mean only one thing? And yet I felt like myself. No regeneration. Impossible, and yet true. And then the light streamed in.

"Well, well, well." the cold, harsh voice of the Master spoke. The darkness I could see was fading away, too slowly for my patience. "We've woken up, have we?" The silhouette of the Master was now stood in front of a blinding white light. As soon as I saw it I jammed my eyes shut, looking away from the unbearable light. I tried to lift my hand again, and sluggishly placed it on the floor behind my back to push myself up. I sat up straight, and felt pins sticking into my feet.

I exclaimed with pain, my face contorted with shock, and I lunged forwards to grab my aching legs. As they gradually came back to life, I looked up, squinting, at the Master. The blinding light behind him had stopped glowing and faded into the background - he was stood in front of a mass of wires, cables and pipes, with steam rising behind him. I could see him now. He wore a black suit, and thick black gloves which he clasped together as he grinned.

"Master?" I whispered hoarsely, the pain in my legs fading. I tried to move them but my co-ordination was completely off, and they merely twitched helplessly on the ground.

The Master let out a short, hollow laugh. "Had a nice little rest?" he asked sharply, but I knew better than to answer. I looked around myself, now that I seemed to have full control of my upper body, and found that the small room I was in was still in darkness. The Master was stood in the doorway - the only doorway - and the rest of the room was black. I could just about make out the walls and a low ceiling.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice cutting into my throat as I breathed in the freezing cold air. My legs started to tingle again and I knew without moving them that I had control over them again.

"Oh, you're home now, Alli." He spat my name like it was a disease. "Home with your precious Jack, and your loving father. Hmm, no sweet, caring mother though, so -"

"And Martha?" I interrupted, caring not for his mocking words, talking over the sting of them.

This seemed to anger him, because his face fell. "She got away. But don't worry," he added quickly when my eyes lit up. "I've got twice as many squads out looking for her. We'll find her soon enough, and then you'll all be here together to watch your beloved planet fall."

He walked further into the room and I craned my neck up to look at him, shuffling backwards very slightly. I hit the back wall instantly.

"But as for you..." he began, crouching down by my side with an evil grin. "We're going to play some nice little games. Would you like that?"

"Where's my father?" I asked, a lot firmer than I had anticipated.

"Ooh, you're not easily deterred." the Master said, smirking. He stood up and walked away. "You'll see him, soon enough. Don't you worry." he told me as he walked out of the room, and signalled to a soldier to close the door.

And I was plunged into the darkness once more.

- - - - - - -

It's funny, the things you think about when you're trapped in the darkness with nothing to occupy your mind. As I lay in the dark, feeling the cold air blow over me as a result of a draft I couldn't place the source of, my mind began to work.

I spent the first few days purely worrying, about Jack, the Doctor, Torchwood, Rose, Martha, and so on; and then I just started to ponder.

If the last place and time that the Doctor landed was July 2007 in Cardiff (with the refuelling, finding me, etc), and the Master had been here for 18 months before then... He must have arrived in January 2006 (ish). I started speculating.

What if the Doctor and Rose had travelled to 2006, or 2007? What if he met them? He might have done. The Doctor wouldn't have realised who it was, because of the Archangel network. He might even have met the Doctor in his previous incarnation. The Master could have done anything - what if he'd killed the Doctor in the past? (Clearly, he didn't care for paradoxes.) What if he'd killed the Doctor and Rose? I wouldn't even exist.

A sinking feeling hit my stomach. What if he'd come to Jackie and I? What if he'd come to Torchwood? Then I realised something thing else that made my mouth run dry. We talked to the Prime Minister. Jack was forever on the phone with him, arguing about some government galactic plan or alien cover-up. He knew Torchwood inside out. And Ianto, Owen, Toshiko and Gwen -

Gwen. I never had liked her, but what had happened? Was she dead? And where had Toshiko been?

I banished the thoughts from my mind, and forced myself to count seconds in my mind. I couldn't determine how much time had passed. It might not even have been days. Maybe it was only hours. Maybe it was weeks.

I drifted in and out of sleep as my body grew heavy and exhausted, but always in the darkness. I stood up once or twice (and banged my head on the ceiling before crouching down low), feeling around the room in search of something - anything - to prove that this was real. But other than a tiny ridge of white light around where the door lay, there was nothing. Not even a door handle. I scrabbled against the metal door, trying in vain to open it, but eventually I gave up, sat against the back wall, drew my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. And then I waited.

* * *

A/N: Locked up again. Poor Alli. Review to cheer her up?  
(Anyone read 'A Prisoner Of Birth' by Jeffrey Archer? It's where the inspiration for the chapter title came from. :D It's a good book. Anywho...)

UPDATE: Thank you Sparkler Girl for pointing out my mistake with the dates.


	45. Torture

**Disclaimer: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo -breathe- ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo -breathe- ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo -breathe- ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.**

A/N: Hey, I didn't realise, but we hit 200 reviews! Yay! -hands out chibi!Jacks- Thanks for all the reviewing!  
I was having a bit of trouble writing this bit, but I hope you'll all find it satisfactory.

* * *

**Torture**

After some time, I was wrenched out of the darkness into blinding light. With my knees already drawn up into my chest and my arms wrapped tightly around them, I buried my head in my arms, and clenched my eyes shut tight as the white light spilled into the room, patterns of light appearing on the insides of my eyelids as I cringed away.

Heavy footsteps made their way across the cold metal floor, and I felt two strong pairs of arms heaving me up off the floor. Forcing my eyes open slightly, I saw the blurred outline of - what I assumed was - the Master, standing proud in the doorway once more. I was pulled up, tripping helplessly over my own deadened feet that refused to follow my orders, and led out of the door. My narrowed eyes relaxed slightly as I was dragged rapidly through the place, and I realised at once that I was onboard the Valiant. My stomach gave a lurch, but there was no time to contemplate. As I was pulled down several corridors, I stared around, confused, trying to remember the way as well as I could. Left, right, right, straight ahead, left, left, right, left... but I soon lost count of the times we turned.

We reached a door I vaguely remembered, and forced myself to focus as it slid open. The Master was stood in front of me, and as he walked through the door, I was held back, out of sight. I could see a long, wooden table in the centre of the room, and a balcony covered in panels and buttons. Suddenly, I remembered where I was. This was the conference room of the Valiant. The very room where the President had been assassinated. The very room where, about 6 and a half months ago by my calculations, I had been thrown into this adventure, not knowing whether the next time I saw the Doctor, he would be in the same body.

I prayed he was alive. I prayed Jack was okay. I prayed Martha had escaped. I even prayed Gwen was alive, though I knew that was near to impossible.

Glancing nervously around myself, I noticed a small brown-grey tent erected on the far side of the room. Guards were standing all around the outside, backed up against the walls, and a blonde woman in a knee-length cream coloured dress and a black cardigan was stood on a raised platform at the top of the room, looking somewhat bewildered as I was pushed around the table and onto the floor. My heavily layered outfit softened the blow slightly, but the impact still sent a sharp pain coursing through my body.

I didn't speak as my hands were thrust forward and I toppled onto the wooden tiles. Lifting my head, I saw the Master walk around me and sit on a step in front of my face. I looked to my right, where a guard was stood proudly, and then to my left, where the tent lay silently. Forcing myself into a sitting position, and drew my legs back up to my chest and watched the Master cautiously.

"Oh, grandad?" said the Master with amusement, looking at the tent. My head whipped round to look, and the material of the tent began to quiver. A wrinkled hand emerged at the front flap, followed by an old man, who crawled out with a murderous look on his face.

My hand flew to my mouth as I watched the Doctor climb weakly out of the tent. I crawled over to him and touched his arm gently, surprised that the Master hadn't stopped me. I suppose he didn't see me as a threat. I helped the Doctor into a sitting position and kept hold of his arm.

"I'm sorry." I told him, feeling my eyes fill with tears.

"So am I." he replied sorrowfully, wrapping a withered hand around my shoulders.

"Oh, how touching." crowed the Master, and we both looked across at him, my fury matching the Doctor's glare. "A family reunion. Only missing, of course, the lovely Miss Tyler." My teeth clenched, and I felt the Doctor's arm stiffen. The Master faked flinching. "Ooh, sorry, sore subject? But it isn't Rose Tyler anymore, is it? It's the darling Martha Jones that's following you now. Travelling the world, searching for a gun -"

"Only the gun's gone now, so leave her alone." I said, a lot firmer than I had expected it to come out.

The Master simply continued to grin smugly. The guard formerly standing at the wall by the Master was now beside me. The Master's grin fell, he gave a single nod to the uniformed man, and the Doctor's arm was thrown off me as I was raged back across the floor to face the Master. This time, as I lay sprawled on the wooden floor, I didn't push myself up. The Master leant over my and laughed in a hollow manner.

"This one is certainly... different." he said to the Doctor, who grimaced and glared, looking like - if he'd been in his normal body - he would wrestle the Master to the ground if he touched me. Personally, I was glad he didn't. The Master had an army of guards at his disposal, and somehow I doubted he was against using violence to get his way. "Wrong, if you ask me." he continued, standing up and pacing around my body with a look of disgust, like a vulture circling its prey. I didn't much like where I stood in that analogy. "Dirty. Unclean. _Foul_."

The Master came to a stop in front of me, pulled out a silver tube from his pocket, and I swallowed, too nervous even to scream.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" I spun around to see the Doctor, frail and weak, struggling in the hold of the guards. I shook my head, meaning to tell him to stop, but the Master slapped my face away and turned me to face him. I gasped as the pain seared through my cheek, but didn't make another sound.

"Perhaps she should be taught her worth." he said coldly, ignoring the Doctor, and pointed the laser screwdriver at me; I heard another slap and a yelp to my left - the Doctor had reacted again. I cringed away from the Master, hiding my head behind a curtain of dirty blonde hair, in the hope that if I couldn't see my death, it would hurt less.

Through my hair, I saw the golden-orange light flash out of the end of the tube. My mouth fell open and I screamed as once again, the poison flowed through me, head to toe, and my insides burned. I heard a the Doctor on my left, yelling, trying to free himself from the guard, and I heard my own scream echoing in my mind. My eyes forced shut, I felt my body writhe beneath me, no longer under my control. My toes and fingers curled, and my body was driven into an arc, a white light blinding any thoughts in my head. But this time, it didn't stop. There was no blackness to take me away from the pain. Just the everlasting agony as I twitched and convulsed on the floor, my back arched uncontrollably.

It lasted for what seemed like an age before I found myself in control of my body again. My body fell, limp, to the floor. Panting, I pushed myself up, coughed, and retched over the wood, my mouth burning, my chest heaving. The Master grimaced and clicked his fingers - a tall, dark-skinned woman who I recognised as Martha's mother approached hastily, and started mopping up the vomit, avoiding my eyes. They appeared to be glistening.

Ignoring the burning pain in the back of my throat, I coughed again, pushed my hair back and wiped my forehead with my arm, then turned to look at the Doctor. He was sat, frozen like a statue, in a position that implied he had been forcing himself to remain where he was. A single tear had fallen down his cheek. I felt my vision cloud as my own eyes shed tears, my throat burning.

Spluttering and wiping my mouth on my sleeve, I turned back to the Master. He was still grimacing, but looked satisfied. He turned with a malevolent smile to the Doctor. "I think that ought to be enough for today, don't you?" he asked cruelly. The Doctor just glared, knowing he was powerless. The Master sighed. "Oh, all the fight's gone now, hasn't it? Nothing else to say?"

"I have only one thing to say to you." the Doctor said, breathing heavily, and the Master stood up.

"No thank you!" he replied, walking over to the Doctor and pushing him back inside the tent. I looked away, waiting for what would come next.

"Take her away." the Master said, hatred and disgust filling his voice, and the next thing I knew, I was being hauled away by three guards, our of the room, through the numerous corridors, and into the black room once more. I didn't struggle as they closed the door on me.

* * *

A/N: This is really getting quite depressing... Ah well, needs must.


	46. The Game

**Disclaimer: Have some French - Je ne posséde pas Doctor Who. (Guess what it means. You'll get there soon enough.)**

A/N: I think Alli turns a bit Mary Sue-ish here, despite my efforts not to let her. It's a bit longer too.

* * *

**The Game**

_3 months later..._

A certain-amount-of-time later, I was being shut in the box-like room for the majority of the day. There was a bed of hay in one corner, and a sheet of sawdust in another. The space was so crowded, the two overlapped. Occasionally (presumably at midday and dusk) the door would slide open a crack, and a bowl of cold, mushy liquid would be pushed through. I didn't eat it. Too long ago for me to remember, I had been stripped of my travelling clothes and gear, and dressed in what seemed to be a grey cloth, with four holes for my head, arms and legs. It was like a primitive dress.

Every day - at least, I assume it was every day - I was pulled from the prison, forced into the blinding sunlight, thrown down in front of the Doctor, and tortured until I threw up from the pain and exhaustion. When I was wrenched from the black room, pulled up by the sleeves of the dirty, smelling cloth, I struggled to no avail. When the Master pointed his laser screwdriver at my throat, I did nothing to stop the strangled sob that escaped. When he leant down afterwards and asked me whether I knew 'what I was' yet (since, apparently, being half-human made me disgusting), I didn't hold back the tears or angry retorts. When he threw his hand across my face, and ordered the guards to beat me until I bled, I cried out with the pain, not caring what he thought of me.

I never ate. I never spoke. I never looked at him. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. This was his game - I knew it. He wanted me to give up; to show how starving I was by eating the disgusting mess he provided twice a day; to beg at his feet for peace.

It wasn't until I caught the Doctor's aged eyes one time - my own eyes half covered by my hair and clinging tears - and saw the expression he wore, that I changed my ways. The look on his wrinkled face was one of disgust for the Master, and one of sorrow for his acts, but also one of pain, for me, and my wretched situation. I saw him struggling, either to get away from the sight, or to rush up to me and take me away; I didn't know which. He couldn't bear to see me so weak, so tired, so skeletal. And I couldn't bear to see him like that, so I did what the Master wanted. I played his game. For the most part.

When the cold, soggy, unknown food came, I forced it down my throat. When I was alone, I slept - or tried to, at least, for my dreams were littered with flashes of light and screams of excruciating pain that woke me at once. When I was brought out into the light, I didn't struggle, and held my head high - or as high as I could manage. When my body convulsed with pain at the hands of the Master's laser screwdriver, I held back my shrieks as much as I could, concentrating hard on not moving, so that less of my attention was on the poison running through every vein. When he leant down afterwards and asked me the seven words that made my blood boil, I didn't even look up. I glared at the polished wooden floor, and sat there, unmoving, until I was pulled backwards towards the door. I complied.

The Master seemed to give up. It was no fun if I didn't struggle, not worth it if the Doctor wasn't affected by my state. I seemed to be brought out less often, as if not being tortured was a punishment for not reacting properly. But then I was locked away for days on end - or what felt like days, at least. The loneliness crept up. I found myself wishing for the torture - thinking it was worth it to be able to see the sunlight, and the Doctor. If I was lucky, it would be Tish, Martha's sister, that came to deliver the food to my room, and she'd give me a weak smile as she slid the metal box-half along the floor, and I'd feel a faint hope rise in the depths of my heart.

Months seemed to pass, and I found myself falling asleep and waking at odd intervals, often screaming, never able to remember the cause of my awakening. I lived in dread, feeling that some day I might fall asleep and never wake up. My frustration got the better of me, and I one day spent hours on end banging, screaming and punching the black door. I got no response. I once asked Tish what month it was in a whisper, as my tin of soggy mush came sliding into the room. She nodded shortly but didn't answer for fear that the guards outside the door would notice. I waited several meals before Tish returned. She was holding the tin differently, her hands covering the food, and as she pushed it in, the door lingered. I held it in front of a sliver of light while the guards were looking the other way. The mess of food had been arranged to read 'APL' in sloppy writing, which I took to mean that it was April.

9 long months had been and gone since Martha and I had left the Valiant to wander the Earth; 3 longer months had passed since we were parted. It had been a shocking 13 months since I had found myself stranded in 2007. I thought back to Jackie, and the little baby Alli. I found myself praying they were still alive. But according to the Doctor's plan, if this important event was to happen exactly as the Master's countdown ended, exactly a year from the day on which the Master took control, we were just another 3 months away.

Truth be told, I wasn't even 100 percent sure of what would happen. Mine and Martha's part of the plan was just to spread word of the Doctor, and get everyone to think of his name at 8.00am on that specific day - exactly one year after the Master assassinated President Winters. What would happen after that, nobody appeared to know. I couldn't risk asking Tish - in fact, she had been strangely absent ever since I'd found out the month. I prayed that nothing had happened to her.

But I worked one thing out, at least. These... 'Toclafane'. The Doctor said they didn't exist. The Doctor fused the co-ordinates - the only place the Master could travel was between Earth and the end of the Universe. Those creatures were clearly not from Earth. And yet, they had thoughts, speech, minds of their own. They could only be the people of the future. Us. And that's when I realised. The Paradox Machine - a machine to allow us to kill ourselves. It was perfect. Well, a perfect crime, at least.

And I was still sometimes brought out in front of the Doctor, and tortured until I bruised myself and sometimes bled, but nothing seemed to matter anymore. The day was drawing nearer, and then everything would be resolved.

This was no longer the Master's game. It was the Doctor's game now. It was a waiting game.

- - - - - - -

As the days dragged on, and I slowly seemed to become more forgotten to the Master, I waited with frustration, fear and impatience for the countdown to begin. It was infuriating - being so close to the Doctor and Jack and yet being so far from contact, being at the centre of all the problems but having no idea what was going on.

Nowadays, it was Martha's mother who delivered my revolting meals, and she looked firmly away from me as she slipped them hastily through the crack in the door. If I'd wanted to escape, I couldn't, because quite aside from the numerous soldiers standing guard just outside, I had no energy at all, and particularly not enough to spare on reckless missions.

My sleep was becoming much more fragmented, disturbed by riddled dreams of blank, white walls and falling levers, never-ending corridors of black, and flashes of yellow light that left me screaming, panting, writhing on the cold, hard floor, shaking with fear. I often awoke, horrified, to find something hot and sticky encasing my fingertips, and discovered that, whatever my dreams were, they had caused me to scratch at my skin until it bled. I didn't seem able to stop myself. The thought scared me more than the desolation.

Some weeks later, I was pulled into the conference room and looked around in horror. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Fearing the worst, I began to shout and scream and sob, before the 'games' had even begun. But then I noticed the cage, and there was a miniature Doctor, staring at me through big, round eyes. About one foot high, with an out of proportion head, dressed in a tiny suit, glaring out at the Master through the iron bars of a bird cage. I lashed out at the Master, my emotions uncontrollable. I was punished for my actions. But I never saw Jack on my journeys out of the room.

I tried to count the meals that passed, sure that I would be able to calculate the date by doing so, but exhaustion and - for want of a better word - insanity began to creep over me, and I found myself unable to keep record of such things. I had some idea however, as each day dragged on more painfully than the last, of when the year should finally be up. It seemed further away with every meal.

It was, in many ways, a relief when the guards thrust open the door to my cell, and brought me in front of the Master to suffer for my being a 'Half-breed'. Despite the excruciating pain that accompanied the trips, it eventually became hard to find the ways in which the pain was worse than the terror and desolation that overcame me when I was waiting in the dark.

I lost track of time again and again, but found that I didn't care. The door was pulled open and a metal tray of cold slush was shoved through every once in a while. Every couple of milleniums, it seemed, I was dragged out and exhibited in front of the Doctor.

- - - - - - -

I was cold when the door was thrust open. I cringed away from the light as always, hugging my legs even closer to my body. This time, however, no one grabbed my arms roughly and pulled me onto my feet. I didn't even hear footsteps as I squinted at the door. The Master was silhouetted against the light once more, and he beckoned to me slowly. I scrabbled to my feet hastily, my ankles almost buckling under my weight, in fear of his weapon. But he didn't move.

I was stood, leaning against the back wall, fearing that if I walked forwards I would surely fall. I felt too weak even to open my eyes fully, but I forced them open and held my palms against the wall at my sides, my feet spread apart, ready to steady myself if I fell. I already felt rather dizzy. His face came into view as he stepped backwards, and he was grinning evilly.

"Martha Jones has returned to England." he told me gleefully.

I fainted.

* * *

A/N: Kind of depressing, but still... Getting close to the end now!


	47. I Forgive You

**Disclaimer: They're still refusing to let me take over. Honestly! It's almost as if they don't want a sappy, fluff-driven, angst-loving, fanfic writing teenager in charge.**

A/N: Wow, people really hated Simm!Master after the last chapter... oh well. *whacks chibi!Simm!Master just for good measure*  
Sorry if I confused anyone in the last A/N; I didn't mean I was ending the story soon, I just meant series 3 was coming to a close.

* * *

**I Forgive You**

_"Martha Jones has returned to England." he told me gleefully._

_I fainted._

- - - - - - -

It must only have been hours later when the Master made another appearance. In any case, there had not been another pitiful meal delivered. He was grinning malevolently again. I was taken by the guards into the conference room, and I remember shrieking when I was thrown down next to none other than Captain Jack. My face hit the floor hard, and scraped against a plinter in the wood. I reached up to my forehead, and felt a slight trickle of blood. Jack's arms were suddenly around me.

He pulled me to my feet, and the guards didn't stop him, and held me close, keeping me standing. He did not look at me. I gazed up at his face, dirty and bloody, but with no scars to display. He was unsurprisingly not wearing his usual outfit of white top, trousers and military coat, but a dirty blue shirt and plain trousers. He looked old; older than he'd ever looked to me before. But he looked ahead, avoiding my eyes, but he held me firmly by side, crushing my ribs, as if afraid that when he let go, I'd fade into nothingness.

The Doctor, standing in the bird cage, was placed by the side of the bridge used to navigate the ship. The Master was stood there, up on the platform, taking centre stage, with his wife and several others. On the wall opposite me, to the left of the lift (the entrance to the room) stood Martha's family, clean and prim, with the girls dressed in maids' outfits, her father in a janitor's uniform. It had been an age since I'd looked at myself properly. I glanced down at my hands. My arms were stringy, skeletal. My nails were claw-like, but uneven and weak where I'd begun to bite the ends out of boredom and worry. I let my hair fall over my face. It was a tangled mess of brown, matted and greasy. I didn't want to see my face. Reaching up, I felt patches of a dried residue over the left side of my face - blood. There were several deep crevices where long, thin cuts littered the surface of the skin - a result of the guards' beating. A large lump obscured my forehead that sent a strangely satisfying pain through my body when my hands reached it.

Guards stood at the side of the Jones family. There was one at Jack's side, one in between us and one on my left. We were waiting still. But for what? Martha? Her return could only mean that it had been a year; that she had completed the mission. So maybe that's was why we were here. We were waiting for the Master to launch the missiles. But what was the Doctor's plan?

"Citizens of Earth," the Master spoke loudly in a microphone. "Rejoice and observe." I glanced weakly up to the ceiling where cameras were placed, presumably transmitting down to Earth. Jack still wouldn't look at me. I slid down a few inches as my knees bucked, but he lifted me up. We waited.

The lift doors slid open. A tall, dark-skinned, black haired woman, wearing a suit of black was pushed out, followed by two soldiers clad in black who guarded the lift. She started walking forwards and glanced around, first at her family on the left, and then over to Jack and I on her right. She winced. I'm not sure whether because of me or Jack. She looked to the Doctor and gave him a watery smile, and he gave her a pitying look and crawled to the front of the cage. She glanced up at the Master as she reached the front of the room.

Martha Jones had returned.

As she reached the front of the room, Jack made to move forward, but the guard on his right held him back.

The Master held out his hand, standing in the centre of the raised platform. "Your teleportation device." he said coldly. "In case you thought I'd forgotten."

Martha pulled the leather wallet out from a pouch in her leg, and threw it wordlessly to the Master, who caught it in both hands.

"And now," the Master said powerfully, "Kneel." Martha knelt down on the floor without a word. When the Master spoke next, he addressed the whole room.

"Down below, the fleet is ready to launch. Two hundred thousand ships set to burn across the universe." he said, with glee in his eyes. He walked across to the wall and pressed a button. "Are we ready?"

"The fleet awaits your signal." a man spoke through a communication system. "Rejoice!"

The Master checked his watch. "Three minutes to align the black hole converters." he told us. "Counting down!" A small panel on the wall began counting backwards from 180. "I never could resist a ticking clock. My children, are you ready?" he shouted.

"We will fly and blaze and slice!" the voices said. So many voices in the sky. Billions of 'Toclafane', littering the sky. So much anger and glee in the words. It made me sick. "We will fly and blaze and slice!"

I watched the countdown, unable to tell myself to look away. I didn't want to see what would happen next. 160 seconds to go.

"At zero," the Master said loudly, "To mark this day, the child, Martha Jones, will die. My first blood." He laughed ironically, raising the laser screwdriver, as Martha glanced around at us all. 140 seconds left. She wasn't begging, or pleading, or guilt-tripping us. She seemed at peace. "Any last words? No?" The Master frowned and looked at the Doctor, and walked down the steps. "Such a disappointment, this one. Days of old, Doctor, you had companions who could absorb the time vortex. This one's useless!"

He held out the laser screwdriver; it opened with a ping. He looked to Martha, who now seemed worried. The countdown was at 130. "Bow your head." he said sternly, and Martha did. "And so it falls to me, the Master of all, to establish from this day, a new order of Time Lords!" he told us proudly. "From this day forward -"

At 120 seconds, I looked away. Martha was kneeling on the floor, her head bowed, about to die, and she was chuckling. Whether playing for time or not, I wasn't sure, but it caught my attention.

"What? What's so funny?" the Master asked coldly, lowering the laser screwdriver.

Martha looked up, bemused. "A gun?" she said patronisingly.

"What about it?" he asked.

"A gun in four parts?" Martha smirked.

"Yes, and I destroyed it." the Master replied insistently.

"A gun, in four parts, scattered across the world?" said Martha, smiling now. "I mean, come on. Did you _really_ believe that?"

"What do you mean?" the Master asked with furrowed brows. 100 seconds.

"As if I would ask her to kill..." the Doctor cut in, walking to the front of the cage and grabbing the bars.

"Oh well! It doesn't matter." the Master shrugged confidently. "I've got her exactly where I want her."

"But I knew what Professor Docherty would do." Martha persisted. I didn't know who Docherty was, but I was intrigued, despite my wavering attention. "The Resistance knew about her son. I told her about the gun, so she'd get me here. At the right time."

The Master laughed. "Oh, but you're still gonna die!" He was adamant.

"Don't you wanna know what we were doing?" Martha asked, frowning. "Me an' Alli, travelling the world?"

The Master sighed and shrugged uninterestedly. "Tell me." he said, and sat on the steps lazily. I glanced briefly at the countdown. 65 seconds left.

"We told a story, that's all." Martha said proudly. "No weapons, just words. We did just what the Doctor said. We went across the continents, and even after Alli was taken, I went all over the world, all on my own. And everywhere I went, I found the people, and I told them my story. I told them about the Doctor. And I told them to pass it on, to spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor."

"Faith and hope?" the Master asked sceptically. "Is that all?"

Martha glanced at the countdown, which read 40 seconds, and she smiled. "No, 'cause I gave them an instruction. Just as the Doctor said." And she stood up defiantly. And suddenly, through all my exhaustion and grief, I felt alive with excitement. Here it was - the plan we had both worked so hard to complete. She began to hurry, with just 30 seconds left.

"I told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time -"

"Nothing will happen!" shouted the Master, standing up. "Is that your weapon? _Prayer_?!" 15 seconds left.

"- Right across the world." Martha continued loudly, smiling now with jubilation. "One word, just _one_ thought, at _one_ moment... But with 15 satellites!"

Comprehension dawned on the Master's face, and I even felt my mouth twitch into a watery smile as Martha revealed the Doctor's plan. "What?" the Master asked, astounded.

"The Archangel Network." Jack told him with a slight smile. The Master's face turned pale, with just 10 seconds to go.

"A telepathic field!" Martha said gleefully. "Binding the whole human race together; with all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time! And that word... is 'Doctor'."

My eyes returned to the countdown, which read 5. Then 4... 3... 2... 1...

They were torn away from the numbers as a blue glow erupted from my right. Jack and I turned to look, him still holding me up, and saw a bright blue-white light surrounding the Doctor's cage. And then the bars were fading away, and the light was growing bigger and brighter, and the Doctor was floating out of the cage -

"Stop it!" said the Master furiously. "No, no, no, no, you don't!"

Jack sighed with relief and closed his eyes. I watched as the light grew brighter and bigger still, and heard Jack mutter "Doctor" under his breath. Across the room, the Jones' were doing the same.

"Don't -" the Master was saying, dumbfounded, but no one was listening. I closed my eyes tight, hot prickly tears leaking underneath my eyelids, and for the first time in months, I smiled.

"Doctor!" I half-sobbed, half-laughed, under my breath, and I opened my eyes, the thought of the Doctor still running furiously through my head.

"Stop this, right now!" the Master ordered powerlessly. "Stop it!" He ran over to the window and gazed down at Earth, where - I imagine - people everywhere were saying the Doctor's name.

I laughed truly, my heart light with relief as the Doctor stood on the ground, the cage gone. His body was regressing, he was now an old, wrinkled man. And all around the room, the Master's wife, and the Jones', and Martha, and the guards were all muttering "Doctor", their eyes half-closed, their expressions determined.

"Doctor." I whispered again, not even closing my eyes, too enthralled with the sight of the Doctor regressing slowly back into my father's original form behind the curtain of blue.

"I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices." he told the Master, his wrinkles fading away.

"I order you to stop!" the Master yelled over the top of the murmurs in the room, rushing down.

And then there was the Doctor, with his mass of bark brown hair, his chocolate brown eyes so much like my own, his brown pinstriped suit shining amidst the blue glow surrounding him.

"The one thing you can't do." the Doctor said. "Stop them thinking."

I laughed with relief and jubilation, my hearts pounding with adrenaline, along with Martha and Jack, and longed to run up to my father. But I couldn't summon the energy, and even if I could, he had a job to do, and I wasn't going to blow it.

The blue glow seemed to rise, and with it so did the Doctor, with his arms raised at his sides to balance himself. The guards behind him on the platform cringed away from the light. A light breeze seemed to arise, and bits of paper began to fly up off the table in the middle of the room.

"Tell me the human race is degenerate now..." he told the Master. "When they can do this."

Martha ran straight over to her family and they enveloped her in warm hugs.

"No!" shouted the Master, and he fired the laser screwdriver at he Doctor. For a moment, my mind sparked with panic, but the beam just dissolved, as soon as it touched the surface of the light.

"I'm sorry." said the Doctor. "I'm so sorry."

The Master stoppped firing the laser screwdriver, but then turned towards Jack and I. "Then I'll kill them!" he shouted, and I cringed as he aimed the laser screwdriver at us, but a second later it was on the floor, metres away. "You can't do this!" the Master told him furiously. "You can't do - It's not fair!" he screamed.

"And you know what happens now." the Doctor told him, and he began to glide through the air as the Master backed up down the stairs.

"No!" cried the Master, retreating to the floor. I watched in amazement. "No! No! No!"

"You wouldn't listen." the Doctor said calmly, floating down to the Master.

"No!"

"Because you know what I'm going to say."

"No!" he screamed, backing into the wall and curling into the foetal position.

The Doctor landed lightly on the ground before him and wrapped his arms around the sobbing Master, as the room watched the pair in awe.

"I forgive you."

* * *

A/N: Review!


	48. The Never Ending Drums

**Disclaimer: The saying 'Keep off my property', I have decided, must not apply for the rights of Doctor Who, as this is not my property, and yet I have 'borrowed' it for the purpose of this 'fic.**

A/N: Eep, a week without an update. Sorry! I've been sorting out other stuff, such as my French exam and my new accounts on Livejournal and Teaspoon. =D Anways, Last of the Time Lords finale time! Yaay! Lucy didn't have a big enough part... I love her character.  
Latest 'late chapter' excuse: I had to have injections for my trip to India in August, in BOTH arms! And they went dead on me a little. So I couldn't write.

* * *

**The Never Ending Drums**

"My children!" screamed the Master, as he lifted his head from the Doctor's embrace.

The Doctor pulled himself from the Master and yelled at Jack, "Captain! The Paradox Machine!"

"You men!" Jack told the guards. "With me!"

He pulled away from me gently and rushed off before I could get a single word in. I dropped slightly as my legs turned to jelly, and fell to the floor on my knees, and I saw the Master pull something out of his pocket. The Doctor followed my eyeline and ran over to him as he pulled out the Vortex Manipulator.

"No!" he cried, and then both men vanished.

Martha pulled away from her family and headed up the platform to look out of the window at the sky. She began pressing buttons randomly on the panel below the wide window.

"We've all 6 billion spheres heading straight for us!" she shouted, and I felt my stomach drop. I pushed myself up against the wall and stood there, waiting. No one spoke.

The Jones family looked terrified, huddled together in the corner. The soldiers - most of whom had fled with Jack - seemed unable to work without orders. The Master's wife - Lucy, I recalled her name was - seemed lost, stood helplessly on the platform in a long red evening dress. Martha looked horrified as she glanced around the room wildly, trying to find a way to stop the spheres.

Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes to stop the room from swirling. I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. I paused, then looked straight at Martha. She seemed worried that I would fall over. Truth be told, so was I.

"What can we do?" I asked, my voice braking with the strain on my throat after not having used it for months. Martha nodded.

"Right. Yeah, good point Alli." she said, making her way down the steps towards me. "C'mon everyone, we need a plan!"

"There's nothing we can do." said a voice. Lucy Saxon was walking steadily down the staircase towards us, where Martha's family had moved over to the table in the centre of the room, and Martha had helped me into a chair. We all turned to look at Lucy as she approached. "There's nothing left. It all ends, here and now. The Human race... diminished."

"Okay, anyone got anything a bit more cheerful?" I turned back to the others and asked, a vague attempt to lighten the situation, though the weakness in my voice caused more concern than laughter.

Martha offered a weak smile in return, but the other members of her family seemed oblivious.

"Maybe we can offer them something?" suggested Martha. "Those... things, there must be something they want more than -"

"There's nothing else." Lucy interrupted distantly, standing right behind Martha but somehow sounding miles away. "Killing is all they need. It's all they want."

"Well, they're not Daleks!" I said exasperatedly, the adventure and need for a plan bringing back some of my energy, and my thirst, hunger and exhaustion giving me a need to get this over with as quickly as possible. "They're human - or they used to be. They must want something else."

Nobody answered. Nobody even looked at me; they all seemed to be avoiding it. I thought back and remembered how my face had felt in my hands, and immediately looked down, letting my hair cover my distorted, bloodied features.

"We'll just have to wait for the Doctor." I said confidently, some of my strength returning.

I glanced across to the lift doors - Jack had not yet returned. Though I knew no harm could befall him, I couldn't help but worry. And where had the Doctor and the Master gone.

I was about to voice my concerns when Tish bounded up onto the platform and stared out of the wide window. The spheres were approaching. Martha's mother and father joined her with pained looks on their faces, and Martha helped me pull myself to my feet and up the stairs. I leant back against the railings as she set about pressing more buttons on the panel. I felt as if I would fall if I let go, so it was all I could do to watch out of the massive window as the billions of spheres flew towards us.

Closer and closer, faster and faster they flew, until they were only yards away. My heart was pounding in my chest as they flew closer still. Martha retreated to my side, and we both cringed away as they reached the ship. They were surely going to burst through the glass at any second -

But we looked up and they were gone. My heart jumped to my throat and Martha seemed to stiffen beside me.

But after less than a second's confusion, I shrieked as a the ship leapt to the side, throwing me down. It lurched forwards, and shuddered terribly: an earthquake appeared to ripple across the ship, throwing Martha and me apart. I just about managed to pull myself up for long enough to grab hold of the railings and steady myself, though my legs flew about each time the ship moved.

My head swirling with confusion and shock, I tried to reach Martha, but she was clinging to a chair across the other side of the platform, and over the sound of the room being torn apart and papers flying everywhere, and machinery shuddering and braking, I could barely hear myself think.

The ship moved suddenly to the left, and I was thrown off the banister. Thinking I was about to fall down the steps, I thrust my hands out, bracing myself for the pain, but it never came. I realised I had clenched my eyes shut, and opened them to the sight of a pinstripe suit. Looking up, my mouth stretched into a painful grin and my heart began to skip.

"Doctor!" I cried over the noise, and he grinned, but didn't look at me; instead he glanced around the room, where numerous guards and Martha's family were cowering from the quake. Martha was cast backwards into us, and the Doctor caught her too.

"Everyone down!" he yelled, and I grinned with him as he spoke. "Time is reversing!" He pulled me and Martha down to the floor and I obliged willingly. He laughed gleefully as he clutched my hands in his, and I laughed back, truly happy for the first time in months. Pieces of paper and bits of rubble flew past our heads, but I squinted my eyes automatically and laughed harder. I twisted my head around to catch his eye, and he looked at me with a slight smile. His face, shuddering from the impact, seemed etched with pain. He looked away quickly.

We lay on the floor for moments after the impact ended, waiting for shreds of shrapnel and pieces of stray paper to finish falling from where they'd been thrust in the quake. The Doctor was the first to stand up. He launched himself up the stairs, walked hurriedly over to the controls, and looked over the panel quickly.

"The paradox is broken." he told us all breathlessly. We raised our heads, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position. "We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past 8:00 in the morning."

He switched a button to turn on the comms system. "This is UNIT Central." a man spoke from the radio. "What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated!" He sounded incredulous, as I felt.

"You see?" said the Doctor. "Just after the President was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror. It never was."

I swallowed. Everything I remembered over the past year - travelling the world, seeing Sarah Jane, telling everyone of the Doctor, Gwen being killed, being captured, being tortured... it had never happened. Gwen was alive. Torchwood was fine. Sarah Jane and Luke - and the rest of the world - were living their lives, just ordinary people, blissfully unaware of the chaos that hadn't happened.

"But what about the spheres?" asked Martha by my side.

"Trapped at the end of the universe." answered the Doctor immediately.

"But I can remember it." said Martha's mother, now standing. She looked confused. I reached up and touched my face. My arm was still sore, my face still bloody, my skin still grooved.

"We're at the eye of the storm." replied the Doctor, unfazed. "The only ones who'll ever know." He walked over to Martha's father, who was still lying on the floor, and spoke a friendly greeting. But the Master had been forgotten. He was stood on the steps now, and was running towards the lifts. I cried out, pointing, but he was already at the lift doors, which were opening.

"Whoa, big fella!" Jack cried, marching out and pushing the Master back. My heart did another little skip "You don't want to miss the party." He turned to the soldier by his side. "Cuffs_._" The soldier handed him a pair of handcuffs, and he tied the Master's hands up and walked him forwards_. "_So, what do we do with this one?"

"We kill him." said Martha's father, and I looked around, up at the platform, shocked.

"We execute him." added Tish, by his side, and I exclaimed "What?" with wide eyes that pained my bruised face. I had no idea Martha's family were so violent.

"No, that's not the solution." said the Doctor, and he stood on the steps between them and the Master.

"Oh, I think so." said another voice, and we all turned to see Martha's mother, stood just to the side of Lucy, Martha and I, with a gun pointed at the Master. Everybody except the Doctor seemed to freeze. "'Cause all those... things... they still happened. Because of him. I saw them." Her eyes were shining with tears.

"Go on!" said the Master daringly, as the Doctor made his way slowly down the steps. "Do it!"

"Francine, you're better than him." he whispered, and reached out his hand to Martha's mother. Her hands shook, but he placed his hand on both of hers and guided them down to the ground. She dropped the gun to the floor and turned away, and the Doctor pulled her into a hug. Martha leapt up from my side and took her mother into her arms.

"You still haven't answered the question." the Master said hatefully. "What happens to me?"

"You're my responsibility from now on." said the Doctor with no hesitation. He glanced back at me, sat on the floor. "The only Time Lords left in existence."

Jack moved around to the Doctor, a gun hanging loosely at his side. "Yeah, but you can't trust him." he whispered to the Doctor.

"No." agreed the Doctor. "The only safe place for him is the TARDIS."

"You mean you're just gonna... keep me?" the Master asked, revolted.

"Mmm." said the Doctor. "If that's what I have to do." He looked to me sadly, then to Jack. I pushed myself to my feet, seeming to have gained a lot of energy since I was brought out of the prison-cell like room, but held onto the table just in case. "It's time to change," he continued. "Maybe I've been wandering, trying to escape, for too long. Now I've got someone else to care for."

A bang echoed through the room, cutting through the dismal silence. The gunshot rang out as the Master staggered backwards. I looked behind me. Lucy was stood there, forgotten, a gun in her hand. She had a dazed look on her face. Jack rushed past me to Lucy and edged the gun out of her hands.

"Put it down." he ordered her, and she did so willingly.

"There you go." came the Doctor's voice. He was lowering the Master to the floor. "I've got you. I've got you."

"Always the women." said the Master, his voice strained.

"I didn't see her." said the Doctor immediately, as if making an excuse.

"Dying in your arms. Happy now?"

"You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate."

"No." refused the Master.

"One little bullet." the Doctor urged, his voice braking. "Come on."

"I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse."

"Regenerate." the Doctor pleaded tearfully. My hands leapt to my mouth, and I felt Jack's arm snake around my waist. I leant into his chest, looking away from the spot in which the Doctor was cradling the Master's body. "Just... regenerate. Please! Please, just regenerate! Come on!"

"And spend - the rest of my life - imprisoned with you?" askd the Master, his voice broken by his ragged breaths.

"But you've got to! Come on, it can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done." The Doctor sounded like he was crying. I felt my own eyes prickle. I hated the Master for what he'd done, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for the Doctor. "Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only ones left, and there's no one else. Regenerate!" he yelled suddenly, and I felt the hairs on my neck prick up.

"How about that?" whispered the Master, his voice empty, quiet. "I win... Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?"

The Doctor didn't answer him. It was as if I was protruding on some awful family death, as if I should be ashamed of my guilt-free mind, but I couldn't help the voice in my mind assuring me that he deserved death. He deserved this end, after everything he'd done. I wrapped my arm around Jack's waist, and felt him brush through my hair with his free hand. But it didn't seem to feel... anything. Nothing seemed to matter. I buried my face in his warm chest, not caring that his shirt was covered in blood and dirt and sweat. It was warm, and Jack's smell somewhat comforting, if a little heavy. A sense that assured me this was real.

I heard sobs, and pulled myself away. The Doctor was rocking, cradling the Master's body in his arms, his face hidden. My own tears began to fall freely, and I didn't wipe them away, but they fell for the Doctor's loss, not for the loss of the Master.

No one spoke. No one moved. Even Lucy, restrained by no one, seemed unable to comprehend what had happened. Martha's family stood by the platform, weary onlookers to the Doctor's loss. Jack and I stood still, wrapped in each other's bodies, alone and yet together in grief.

The Doctor let out a howl of rage and sorrow as he rocked the Master's limp body, and we all watched with blurred vision as the two old friends parted.

* * *

A/N: I cried re-watching that. Jesus, that song is amazing (This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home).

-sigh- Ah... bit of a rubbish ending, but I can't bring myself to write any more at the moment, and I want the next chapter to start well. So, review!


	49. Bittersweet

**Disclaimer: I will (not) own it someday, so (don't) send in your suggestions now. And I don't own the rights to Converse either (though I do own a pair).**

A/N: Decision time for Alli... (And probably the longest chapter I've written yet!)

* * *

**Bittersweet**

The Doctor set the body alight on a distant planet in the constellation of Kasterborous. Martha, Jack and I remained in the TARDIS.

When he returned, I was still in my bedroom, gazing distantly in the mirror in a desperate attempt to recognise the person being reflected. There was a sandwich on the table, with a mere bite taken out of it, and a drained glass of water by its side.

My skin was pale, a deathly white. The whole left side of my face was littered with animalistic scratches and lines of blood. The heavy grooves I had felt in my skin looked worse than I had imagined. Covered with dried blood, the scars obscured my forehead and cheek, leaving an ugly trail of red down my face. On the right side, my cheek was swollen. A huge, almost cartoon-like lump was coursing pain through my nerves from my forehead, and my nose had bled so much it was pale white and scarred. My hands were still tarnished red with blood I had tried to stop flowing countless times. They were scorched and rough, like my arms and torso.

I stood half naked, feeling faint, as I observed my disfigured body. Jack entered with a tap on the door. I couldn't summon the energy to cover myself, but he draped a blanket over my shoulders and I wrapped it around myself gratefully. I swayed on the spot, and he wordlessly guided me over to my bed, where I sat close to him and didn't speak, still looking at myself in the mirror opposite the bed. He pulled me into him and I felt myself instantly more relaxed. We hadn't had a moment alone in over a year. It seemed impossible.

"It's not that bad." he muttered after a while. I almost laughed. "No, really." he added. "The Doctor can patch this up, no problem."

I nodded weakly, refusing to look at him. "But it still happened." I told him in an almost silent whisper, my voice sounding like someone else's. "I can still remember it."

Jack seemed to understand. He pressed a fatherly kiss to my head, though my hair was still disgustingly matted and greasy. I wanted nothing more than to wrench him away and scrub every trace of the Master's work from my face and body; but at the same time, I longed to sit here forever, curled up in Jack's arms, always protected, never alone. After a few moments, he seemed to sense my unease, and left my side. I felt at peace, but strangely empty.

"Are we tellin' him?" I asked, as Jack made for the door. "We never got round to it..."

Jack seemed to contemplate it. "Like I said, it's your choice." It seemed years ago that we'd last discussed the subject of our former engagement.

"Right. He doesn't know already then?" I ventured hopefully.

"Nope." answered Jack.

"In that case... I think he's got enough to worry about." I said, making my decision. Jack gave me a slight smile and headed towards the door again. A question popped into my head.

"Jack..." I began unsurely. "D'you think it'd be okay... I mean, if I don't stay with the Doctor... well, could I stay at Torchwood?" Jack hesitated. "Permanently?" I added, reasoning that I might as well make sure he knew what I meant.

Jack paused at the doorway, then smiled. "'Course you can." he replied cheerfully, then grinned and edged out of the room.

A few hours later, I left the confinement of my "private" corridor, and bean to walk towards the main consol area, where the others were sure to be. I looked relatively normal, dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a blue striped polo shirt, accompanied with my red converse - and, of course, a new TARDIS key hung on a length of string around my neck, to replace the key that was taken from me by the Master's soldiers. My blonde hair, now grease free and bouncing on my shoulders, was framing my still heavily injured face. I had done my best to cover up most of the damage, and it looked a lot better now that it wasn't caked in a year's worth of dirt and blood, but I knew that the second the Doctor saw me, he'd want to make sure I was okay.

And sure enough, as soon as I reached the console room, I was pushed out again towards the medic room. Jack and Martha followed us in, Martha no doubt hoping to be of some use, but the Doctor tended to my cuts and bruises delicately, always focused on his work, his eyes never straying from my injuries. When he came across something his vast selection of alien cures and remedies couldn't fix - such as a long, deep cut spanning from the top of my left ear to my collarbone - he beckoned Martha over for her expertise. She conducted her work more kindly than the Doctor, much more casually, more freely, while Jack merely watched in the corner, occasionally making comments. He had already washed and been tended to, and was back in his old outfit.

When we left the room a few hours later, I felt almost back to normal. The Doctor and Martha had managed to soothe most of the stinging, and a lot of the bruising and swelling had gone done as well. There were still several deep gashes on my face, but I at least looked human, and there were no tell-tale trails of blood pouring down my cheeks.

Martha and Jack left first, to get something to eat in the TARDIS kitchen, and the Doctor and I were left alone in the medic area to finish off and clean up. The Doctor said nothing; he didn't even look at me.

After a few moments, when he had just finished tidying away the bottles of antibiotics he had rifled through to find a bottle of Helapeon 'Slow-Swells Serum', I got tired of the tension. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. If anything, it just felt good to have him close to me, safe again, after so long. He seemed to feel the same, and wrapped his arms around me in return, smoothing down my hair and pressing his mouth there in a similar way to Jack. The thought made me sad.

I'm not sure how long we stood there, but when we broke apart, his eyes looked slightly puffy. He was looking at the floor.

"The time to grieve's over." he told me with a sniff when I opened my mouth to speak. "Let's go." He held out his hand, and I took it gratefully. "You could do with something to eat. And then bed."

I grinned, then winced when my jaw stung with pain. "Sounds good to me." I said, smiling slightly, and we walked towards the kitchen together to see what delicious food awaited us after our grueling year of mush.

- - - - - - -

I didn't sleep well that night. After a gorgeous feast of roast pork, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, roast, boiled and mashed potatoes, and a large strawberry trifle whipped up by the TARDIS, I fell exhausted and content into bed, and drifted into a deep sleep in my pitch black room. But it didn't last long, and after a few hours, I woke up, screaming, writhing in my bed covers, and fell on the floor.

The Doctor (still in his pinstriped suit) rushed in and flicked on the light in a matter of seconds, shortly followed by Jack, in just a pair of boxers, and Martha, wrapped in a pink nightgown and yawning. Feeling disconcerted and yet still slightly embarrassed, I muttered my apologies, and crawled back into bed gingerly, wracking my brain to remember what had awoken me. I couldn't remember any dream or nightmare, and yet I had somehow been scared enough to scream myself awake.

Martha filed out of the room quickly, and Jack followed her out, albeit slightly reluctantly, but the Doctor remained at my side as I lay back down in bed. I saw him pull up a chair and watch my feet as the light faded into night. My night was not undisturbed, but when I was pulled out of sleep the next few times, I at least woke quietly enough to feint merely a brief movement, roll over and wait to fall asleep again, for the Doctor's sake. When I awoke in the morning, he was still there, his head buried in one of my own books, lifted from my bookshelf which stood at his side.

After a breakfast of assorted cereals and toast, the four of us moved to the console room, waiting for someone to make a decision about what was to happen next.

"I'd better get back to my team." Jack had said suddenly, amidst the lost laughter of a story the Doctor had been telling.

"What?" Martha had asked, clearly disappointed, but the Doctor merely nodded.

"You won't stay?" he offered, but Jack shook his head.

"They'll be waiting."

"Time machine." reminded the Doctor, and Jack chuckled.

"Still... I've got work to do."

I couldn't help notice something was being overlooked.

"Um... what about me?" I began uneasily. I'd had plenty of time in the past year to decide what I'd do at this point, and yet I had still managed not to come to a conclusion.

The Doctor and Jack studied each other, neither looking at me. Jack seemed to remember how angry the Doctor had been when he found out I was working for Torchwood, because he looked away first.

"It's your father's decision." he told me gently, then looked back at the Doctor, who still hadn't looked away. He hesitated.

He reached up and scratched his ear, contemplating, and Martha sensed that this was meant to be a private moment. She led Jack out the door, and before long their footsteps had become distant sounds in the never-ending corridors of the TARDIS.

"Well?" I asked, moving to stand opposite the Doctor, but he still refused to meet my eyes.

"I suppose... that's your choice." he said finally, nodding at a spot a few centimetres to the left of my ear as he pushed me away (metaphorically, not literally, of course).

I nodded once, unsure what was supposed to happen now. I still hadn't made my choice. Part of me was begging to get back to Torchwood, to see everyone again, to check they were all okay; part of me yearned to stay with my father and keep him company, sticking together as a family should; part of me wanted to run away, back to Jackie in 2022, to see my friends and live my human life.

"I'm sorry." the Doctor said abruptly.

"What?" I said, taken-aback. "Why?"

"For what happened to you." he explained, and he reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face, then winced slightly at the bruising it uncovered. He was still refusing to look me in the eye.

"Wel... 'snot your fault..." I muttered awkwardly.

"I was just trying to do what was best." he told my shoulder. "I never meant for you to get hurt."

"Obviously." I said, frowning. In my exhaustion after the previous night's disturbances, my impatience seemed to get the better of me. "Why won't you look at me?!" I demanded, when he once again refused to meet my eyes.

He swallowed but didn't reply. "Doctor?" I asked. "Why can't you look me in the eye?"

He looked to the door. "We should go and see the other two." he said shortly, and brushed past me to get to the door. This seemed to aggravate me to the point where I lost control.

"LOOK AT ME!" I bellowed. "Why won't you just _look_ at me?!"

"Because it's hard, Alli!" the Doctor turned and said coldly, looking straight into my eyes, and I saw that his eyes seemed more hollow than ever before. It scared me, to say the least. He seemed scared himself. I was too shocked to reply to his abrupt answer. He had always been the one to tell me off, when him, Rose and I had been a proper family, but never had I seen him like this. I knew it was hard for him, acting the father when he'd lost all that so many decades before, but he'd never before spoken to me as distantly as he did now. "Because I saw you tortured, and beaten, and starved and abused, and I _couldn't stop them_!"

Tears sprung to my eyes, and I took a step back. He looked away again. "D'you think it's easy?" he asked me furiously. "Looking at you now, after seeing what he did to you? Seeing it now, on your face, in your eyes? This never used to happen! Not when we... not - it just didn't! I could stop it! But how can I look at you know? Knowing that it wouldn't have happened if I... If I hadn't...?"

I was momentarily stunned, unable to summon an appropriate response. I couldn't see how he was possibly blaming this on himself. But - and I don't know why it came to me - my thoughts suddenly found me the real answer.

"But that's not it..." started uneasily, waiting for another outburst. "That's not it at all, is it? You've seen me hurt before, it happens all the time. And yeah, okay, this is a lot more than I've been hurt before, but... That's not the real reason you won't look at me." The Doctor looked away again. I felt my tears blur my sight, much to my annoyance. "It's mum." The Doctor looked up at me then, right into my eyes, taken by surprise. I never called them 'mum' and 'dad'. I don't even know why I did then. "Isn't it? Whenever you look at me... you see her."

He didn't reply, but he didn't need to. It all seemed suddenly so clear. "I see it sometimes, in your eyes." I whispered, my voice only just audible. "When I say somethin' that could have been her, you look at me, an' it's like you're seein' her."

"I do love you Alli. You're my daughter. And I'll love you 'til the end of Time." he assured me, repeating the words he used to say every night before he tucked me into bed. As if he had to. He looked away and my eyes overflowed with memories.

"I miss her." I whispered, my voice cracking. And then, without further argument, without anything else needing to be said, we were father and daughter again, the discussion forgotten, and I was in his arms, and he was holding me again like he'd never let go.

"I know." he murmured, resting his chin on my head. "I miss her too. And I'm sorry."

Gritting my teeth, I pulled one hand away and punched his side softly. "Don't." I warned him, and he chuckled. "There's no way this was your fault."

As we parted, I wiped my eyes tenderly on my sleeve, carefully not to catch the material on one of my many cuts or scratches.

"Yeah, so I - I think I'm gonna go." I said, nodding. "I don't think this is gonna work. An'... I belong with Torchwood."

"Well, you don't - I mean, you could stay," the Doctor offered. "Please. I'd like that. You, me and Martha. You know, she isn't -"

"I know." I interrupted, and I did know, perfectly well, that Martha wasn't trying to replace Rose. "She's all right, Martha is. You hold on to her." I smiled. "But really, I can't. It'll be too much - it just won't be the same."

He nodded understandingly. "But -"

"I'll be fine!" I reassured him with a smile that stung the corners of my mouth. "Everyone leaves home one day. And Jack'll take care of me."

The Doctor snorted and I giggled reluctantly, but stopped myself when my skin stretched and stung. "You watch out for that one." he told me, and offered his hand. "Now, I reckon we should go and see what Mr Harkness thinks."

"_Captain _Harkness." I reminded him with a slight smile, and he grinned back. Hand in hand, we walked out of the console room, and followed the TARDIS' path to the kitchen, where we found Jack and Martha.

They were running around at the kitchen table wildly, though they froze, grins still etched on their faces, when we entered. Jack was running whilst holding a large mixing bowl, full to the brim with a dark brown gooey liquid, high above his head, and Martha, chasing him, appeared to be on the verge of whacking him with the wooden spoon (also covered in the brown substance) that she was waving madly at him - spraying tiny particles of chocolate all around the room as she did so.

The Doctor took one look at the pair of them and ducked behind a counter, just in time to avoid being splattered with chocolate (courtesy of Martha). When the two "adults" finally stopped dead, he emerged, looking stern.

"Wh-What the Hell's going on here?" he asked incredulously, indicating the chocolate-splattered table and walls, and Martha and Jack themselves, who seemed to be covered in little patches of the sweet, sticky food. Jack looked to Martha, trying to suppress a grin, then sheepishly to the Doctor, but didn't reply. The Doctor looked to Martha.

"We... wanted some melted chocolate." she said, shrugging.

God, I was going to miss this place.

* * *

A/N: Happy times... ish.

chibi!Alli: ... -blinks- Did I just... throw a hissy fit? At the Doctor?  
Me: Um, yep, I think you did.  
chibi!Alli: ... Oh ... -pause- ... I hate you.


	50. The Parting Of Ways

**Disclaimer: No. Nah. Nil point. Nope. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Naught. Nothing. Not mine. Don't own.**

A/N: You know, I think I might have stolen the chapter title from somewhere. It just came to me, like magic, and it sounded ever so slightly familiar. I have changed it a little, but I just can't place where I heard it first... -racks brains- Nope, no idea. Ah well... ((It's called sarcasm people, and it's my thing.))  
Anyway, thank you to Martha Smith for making me update (finally). And I'm thrilled to announce that I'm now on study leave, which means more time to write! ...I mean - erm, study...

* * *

**The Parting Of Ways**

After a "short" trip to the year 2022, to explain the situation to Jackie (and my former school) and say goodbye, the Doctor, Jack, Martha and I were back in Cardiff. Although glad that the confrontation was over (the Doctor's left cheek was still ever so slightly pink and my eyes were still puffy), I couldn't help but begin to miss my dear grandmother. I silently reminded myself of the promise the Doctor had made to Jackie - that he'd take me back to visit her at least once a month - and wondered what he'd do to try getting out of it. He had no chance. I owed Jackie that much, since I now knew the secret she'd been keeping for so long. And my friends (who were now firmly under the belief that I had moved to some kind of bording school) deserved as much as well.

We all looked out at the Torchwood tower, and Jack and I knew we were home.

"Time was, every single one of these people knew your name." Martha said, astounded. "Now they've all forgotten you."

"Good." the Doctor said, at my side.

"Back to work." said a voice on my other side - Jack was ducking under the railings we had been leaning on. I shrugged the Doctor's arm off my shoulders and followed suit with a grin, my face no longer aching with each movement, though my body was still slightly scarred and bruised.

"And you're sure you won't come back?" the Doctor offered. "Both of you?"

"Had plenty of time to think that past year. The Year That Never Was." Jack told us, and he glanced back to the fountain concealing the Torchwood hub. "And I kept thinking about that team of mine. Our team." he added, glancing at me. "Like you said, Doctor, responsibility."

"Defending the Earth." the Doctor agreed. "Can't argue with that."

He reached out, as if to shake Jack's hand, but then he was reaching into his pocket, with Jack's Vortex Manipulator firm in his grasp.

"Hey, I need that!" Jack protested, but the Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver.

"I can't have you walking around with a time-travelling teleport." He held the sonic screwdriver over the device, pressed a few buttons, then released Jack's wrist. "You could go anywhere. Twice. The second time to apologise."

I grinned, stepped forwards to reach the Doctor, and wrapped my arms around him over the railings, wishing I didn't have to go, but longing to be back with the team. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I kissed his cheek before stepping back.

"Thank you. Oh, and... I forgive you." I said with a smile, with nothing else to add, realising that through our various arguments, I'd never accepted his apologies for leaving me and losing Rose. Not that I blamed him, of course.

"Thank _you_." he replied with a smile. "You helped save the world."

"Yep." I nodded happily. "That I did." I paused. "And you'll be here in a month? Definitely?" I asked hesitantly. The Doctor grinned.

"'Course I will." he smiled, and I beamed. "And you look after her." he added to Jack.

"I'll do my best." he grinned back. I took a step towards Martha. She smiled warmly.

"What can I say?" I said with a sigh, hardly knowing where to begin. "I'm sorry I was so... well, horrible to you, at first."

"Forget it." Martha smiled. "I understand. And thanks, Alli. Don't know what I'd have done without you this past year."

"Likewise." I nodded, and leaned in to exchange a goodbye hug. "Take care."

"And you." she said warmly, and released me with a wide smile.

This time, when I stepped back, I was at Jack's side, and he was saluting the Doctor.

"Sir." he said, his hand at his forehead, and the Doctor gave a one-fingered salute back. Jack winked at Martha. "Ma'am." Martha smiled and gave him a little salute in return as well. I rolled my eyes.

Jack turned to leave, but I stayed where I was. "I'll see you again soon, yeah?" I checked. "Both of you?"

They both grinned, though Martha's, for some reason, looked slightly forced. "We won't forget."

I smiled with relief and turned back to follow Jack, but he had now turned back to the Doctor as well.

"Doctor, what about me?" he asked. "Can you fix that? Will I ever be able to die?"

"Nothing I can do." the Doctor replied, looking Jack up and down. "You're an impossible thing, Jack."

"Been called that before." Jack laughed, but he still looked worried. "But I keep wondering... What about aging? 'Cause, I can't die, but I keep getting older. The odd little grey hair, you know?" He put his hands on his hips, contemplating. "What happens if I live for a million years?"

"I really don't know." the Doctor grinned, and Jack chuckled.

"Okay, vanity. Sorry. Yeah, can't help it." He smiled and walked forwards. "Used to be a poster boy, when I was a kid, back on the Boeshane Peninsula." I smiled at the memory, but I silently prayed the Doctor wouldn't put two and two together and realise that was the same place I had gotten engaged to Jack. I wasn't quite prepared for that discussion yet. He didn't seem to remember. Jack was still talking. "Tiny little place. I was the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency. They were so proud of me. The Face of Boe they called me."

The Doctor's face suddenly dropped to one of mixed surprise and shock. Was he remembering? Jack smiled fondly at his memory, too absorbed in it to notice the Doctor's sudden reaction. "I'll see you." Jack finished, and turned back around to walk back to the fountain.

I followed, glancing back at the Doctor, but whatever he seemed to have realised was apparently _not_ that Jack was my ex-fiancé, since Martha seemed to be sharing his glee.

Jack linked his hand in mine casually, and we walked together to the Hub's entrance. My heart was beating fast; I was eager to see the team again, but nervous about their reactions. I tried not to focus on the state of my face and lower arms - the parts of my body that were exposed.

"Jack, how's long's it been?" I asked as we walked, frowning. "Since we left, I mean. It was the end of July, yeah? What's the date now, when did he leave us?"

Jack frowned. "Well," he checked his Vortex Manipulator, pressed a few buttons and grimaced. "Nothing. Needs to be re-configured after whatever the Doctor did to it." he explained. "Don't you have your phone on you?"

I shook my head. "They took it when... y'know. I'm gonna need a new one, I s'pose." I didn't want to recap the event of my capture. Jack understood.

"Well, if it was July when we left... assuming we arrived back from the future a couple of weeks after that - or months, knowing the Doctor - then met the Master, lived a year, then time reversed... should be about mid-August, perhaps September."

"And've you got any ideas about how we're gonna explain this to the others?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope." Jack said cheerfully. "I'm thinking we keep it to a polite 'none of your business' and ignore them if they ask again." Whether he was joking or not, I didn't laugh.

"We can't keep hidin' stuff from them." I told him seriously. "You especially."

"They don't need to know."

"You're our leader!" I protested. "Don't you think they deserve to know who they're takin' orders from?" Jack didn't reply. I knew it was no use.

In no time at all, it seemed, we were already at the tourist office where Ianto was going to be stood behind the counter, perhaps drinking coffee, pondering something mundane or worrying where Jack and I were.

With a quick glance at each other, we walked through the door into the office. Despite the fact that it was the middle of the day, Ianto was nowhere to be seen.

"Looks like we're gonna have to face them all together." grimaced Jack. Clearly he had been hoping for a quiet word to Ianto before seeing the others.

Bracing ourselves, we slipped through the door in the wall and walked in silence down the passageway. The siren sounded, loud and clear, when we walked into the Hub. It looked pretty much the same as it had done when we'd left it, though perhaps a little tidier. I grinned at the sight of the place, despite myself. We stopped dead, our hands still clasped in an act of unity. But no one came.

I cast Jack a nervous glance, worried that something terrible might have happened to them.

"Weren't they in the Himalayas?" I suggested.

"Yeah, but that must have been days ago, weeks even. Surely they'd have come back when they saw - or heard about, at least - the President being killed."

"Maybe we got the date wrong."

"Maybe they're just... out."

Jack walked over up the stairs to his office and I followed, for a lack of anything better to do. He opened the door and walked inside, and so did I, noting that everything was exactly the same as I remembered it. It looked as if no one had even entered the room, and I didn't rule this out as a possibility. I felt a little awkward as I remembered what had happened the last time I'd been in this office, and quickly excused myself, muttering something about going to make myself a cup of coffee.

When Jack returned downstairs, to find me sat at Toshiko's desk with a mug of steaming coffee, he was holding two small objects in his hand. He threw one of them to me, and I caught it with a curious expression. I opened my hand: it was a bluetooth earpiece.

"Jack, you're not serious?" I asked, exasperated.

"Why not?" he asked, holding him his own earpiece.

"You're gonna do this over the _phone_?"

Jack hesitated, then cast the earpiece aside and sat down at the desk next to me. "Yeah, you're right." He sniffed casually. "We should at least give Gwen a chance to punch me."

I snorted, but it soon turned into a look of concern. "D'you think they'll be mad?"

Jack shrugged. "Probably. I can see Gwen being mad. Owen'll probably toss a bunch of insults out then forget about it. Toshiko might understand. Ianto..."

"We'll just have to... wait, then." I said, not exactly thrilled at the prospect, and neither needing or wanting to force him to finish his sentence.

So, over the next few hours, Jack ventured through the paperwork, in an attempt to catch us up on what we'd missed, and perhaps get a clue as to where the others might be. I found out the date (Jack had been right, it was late-August), drank several cups of coffee, and spent a while worrying about where the rest of the team could be and what they'd say when they saw us.

Jack had convinced me that we should let them come back in their own time, rather than hunt them down and go looking for them. I started getting rather restless - after half a year of sitting around in a pitch black cell doing nothing, I was aching to get out into the world again, and I didn't much like the fact that I was being copped up inside the Hub when I could be having the same adventure as the rest of the team, wherever they were.

When it was getting dark outside, I began to get worried. Switching on Toshiko's computer, I trawled through her programs to find what I was looking for. I eventually found and pulled up the tracking program, and entered the SUV's registration number. For a tense few minutes, the frustrating 'LOADING' sign whirled around on the screen, but then, with a loud beep, the computer flashed to an area of Wales where the car had been located. I laughed, pleased with myself for finding them, then looked around for Jack. He was still down in the Archives.

"Jack?" I yelled into the empty room. A few seconds later, Jack appeared at the top of the steps and walked into the room.

"What is it?" he asked interestedly.

"I know where the others are."

"Really?" he asked. "Where? And how?"

"Tosh's tracking system. And here." I pointed to the car's location on the screen. "Should we go?"

Jack thought for a moment. "Keep the program up. If they haven't moved in an hour, we'll set off."

"But -"

"Alli, they can take care of themselves." Jack reminded me, slightly patronisingly. I scowled, and he made his way back towards the stairs to the Archives.

I typed a few things into the system, casually wondering whether there was any alien life around. Just as Jack was about to descend down to the Archives again, I froze.

"Jack -"

"Alli, I'm sure they're fine, just -"

"No! Jack - they're moving!" I exclaimed, pointing at the screen. He rushed over. "And look - that signifies an alien life, just ahead of them."

It seemed that they were chasing an alien. I grabbed Toshiko's mini tracking device, slightly surprised she didn't have it with her, but then remembering they were in the SUV and therefore didn't need it, and held it up. "Fancy giving them a hand?" I asked hopefully, and I started transferring the co-ordinates and information onto the little phone-like computer. The SUV's location appeared on the small screen, still following a small red dot.

Jack looked down at the screen, then up at me. He grinned.

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A/N: Bring on series 2!


	51. I Never Did Like Fish

**Disclaimer: "Nothing is mine. It's not a very fun thing to own..." - this disclaimer belongs to The Chibi's Are Stalking Me. I hereby use and disclaim it.**

A/N: Okay, so there's nothing written between the reunion scene and the Hub scene in KKBB... so I improvised. It's what I'm here for. =D  
Sorry about the lack in updates; I've been on Guide camp, and revising has gotten in the way. You probably won't get another update until next week, as I have about a gazillion exams this week, but after that it's all a bit more relaxed, and I'll be updating like it's going out of fashion. You can thank rosemariontyler08 for this update.

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**I Never Did Like Fish**

Imagine the scenario.

Captain Jack Harkness. Born in the 51st Century. Once Time Agent, once Con-man, now Defender of Worlds.  
Alli Tyler. Half alien, half human. Kind of, sort of the Defender of Worlds' 'sidekick'... or something. I don't know. Anyway...

Invaluable technology at our fingertips, alien machinery waiting to be used. And how do we get across the middle of Wales?

We take the bus.

To be fair, we would have taken the SUV if Toshiko, Ianto, Owen and Gwen didn't have it with them. Then again, if they didn't, we wouldn't have been on the bus in the first place...

But there we were, sat on the bus; I had the tracking device clutched firmly in my hand like a lifeline, and Jack seemed to be having severe trouble keeping his feet still as they tried to tap out a tarantella.

At last, after a journey that seemed to last several lifetimes, we reached the right house, jammed down the emergency stop button and legged it out of the bus without a backwards glance. Jack was pulling his gun out as we ran, and I was still holding the tracker in my hands. We passed the SUV, but displayed on the screen was the little red dot that signified alien life. It was inside the house. A gunshot sounded.

We sprinted to the door - it was ajar. Jack quietly pushed it open, looked at me with a finger held to his lips, and raised his gun. I pulled out my own gun and followed him in.

If I hadn't seen an alien before, I would have screamed. As we entered the living room, unnoticed, I saw what seemed to be a walking, talking, red _blowfish_ (in a _suit_) at the front of the room, with a gun held to the neck of a young girl. Closest to us was Owen, on the floor with a bleeding, choking man. Gwen was protecting a woman, holding her to one side - the mother, it seemed - while Toshiko and Ianto were stood facing the blowfish with their guns raised, ready to shoot. Toshiko was holding up a small scanner and reading off it, her other hand trained on the blowfish. No one seemed to have realised we were there. My stomach did a strange lurch upon seeing Gwen, and I remembered with a pang of guilt that in the year-that-never-happened, she had died for Martha and I.

To be frank, it wasn't exactly the reunion I'd been hoping for after being parted for a year (though I reminded myself once again that they would believe it to be less than a month), but there was nothing to be done about that. In fact, I should have been paying more attention to the situation at hand. The blowfish was speaking -

"- do it?" he was saying to Ianto, his voice human but oddly cold. _(Yeah, that's what was weird. Forget the talking fish, if it's got a cold voice,_ then_ we're in trouble...)_My grip on the gun tightened, but the fish was moving to fast, the girl struggling too hard, for me to get a good clear shot. "How good are you? How sharp is your aim? What if you kill her? What if I kill her first? Can you shoot, before I do? Can you? Dare you? Would you? Won't you?"

I heard a gunshot and thought I had fired by accident. Checking my gun, I was relieved to see I had not. Was it Ianto? No, since he was now looking at Jack and I. I looked up to Jack, who it now became clear had been the one to shoot. He smirked as the others also turned to stare at us, the woman scrambling past Gwen to reach her daughter, the man still on the floor with Owen's jacket stemming the blood.

"Hey kids." Jack drawled, grinning. "Did you miss us?"

No one answered for a moment. I dropped my gun to my side, and Jack did the same. I looked around, almost laughing from the expressions on the others' faces.

"Jack?" Ianto asked, dumbfounded, and his gun fell to the floor, his arm limp at his side. "Alli?" Owen, still trying to tend to his patient, didn't make any move, his face set. Toshiko just gazed at us, open-mouthed. But Gwen, her face clenched with fury, took one step forward and -

WHAM. Jack staggered backwards, clutching his nose. With raised eyebrows, I took a step back too, just to be on the safe side, but she ignored me. As did the others. Hmph. That's nice.

Jack seemed to accept it. "Want another one?" he asked jokingly, and for a second, I thought Gwen _was_going to punch him again. But instead, she turned to face Ianto, Toshiko and Owen.

"Let's get that thing back to the Hub." she instructed, indicating the blowfish that now lay crumpled on the floor but looking at Ianto, who nodded, his own eyes still on Jack. "I want to make sure nothing else came through with it. Owen, get an ambulance here to take him to hospital -" she pointed at the wounded man "- you can invent a scenario, whatever you like."

"Gotcha." said Owen.

"Tosh, you got any further with the readings? If there are any more of these around, I want them dealt with."

Toshiko shook her head. "I need the system back at the Hub. But I'd like to get a DNA sample from this one, then I can trace it back to species - it's incredible technology."

"Be my guest." said Gwen, and she and the others moved across the room quietly. I wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Owen made a quick call to 999 by the man's side and informed Gwen that an ambulance was on its way, Toshiko and Ianto were sorting out the blowfish's body, and Gwen was comforting the mother and daughter and explaining what would happen next.

Jack seemed speechless too. After a few moments, Gwen stood up and shrugged her way past Jack and me. Following Gwen's example, the others walked out after her. Owen had his phone to his ear, but cast a quick glance at my disfigured face and frowned; Toshiko walked past wordlessly with her head bent low, pulling the blowfish behind her on a stretcher; and Ianto, holding the other end of the stretcher, hesitated between Jack and me, looked up at Jack and seemed about to speak, but then hurried along after Toshiko when Gwen yelled their names from outside.

We exchanged a glance and followed them out. We jumped into the back of the SUV with the dead blowfish, where the back door had been left open, and Owen drove us back to the Hub in silence, while Jack and I exchanged numerous looks of nervousness (on my part) and reassurance (on Jack's).

On arriving back at the Hub, we hung behind, trailing in after the others in an act of politeness (and fear of Gwen). As soon as we got into the main Hub area, the team trailed about and wandered over to the computers.

Toshiko made immediately for hers, cast one glance at the tracking program I had forgotten to shut down, closed it wordlessly, and started frantically typing things into the screen. Gwen was watching her, waiting for results, and Ianto was at her side. Owen went down to the post-mortem bay with the blowfish.

"So?" Gwen asked Toshiko when she hesitated at one point.

"I have no idea..." she muttered, then turned to Gwen, her eyes accidentally landing on me and widening in alarm. I looked away instantly. "The - uh, the DNA I gathered can't be traced. We don't have anything like it on record. No idea what it is, or where it's from. But that's not always the best method, Owen'll know what to do better."

"What about other incidents?"

"On it now." She turned back to her computer. I thought of going to ask if I could help, but decided against it, watching the interchange curiously.

"What about you, Ianto? Where's the body?" asked Gwen.

"Owen's got it." answered Ianto. "He's just conducting the post-mortem."

"And how're the family?" ventured Gwen.

"All fine; Owen sorted it all out with the hospital, the dad's going to make a full recovery, and the girl's just suffering from a bit of shock." reported Ianto.

"Yeah, being held captive by a talking fish can do that to some people." Gwen replied with a slight smile.

Toshiko turned back around. "Nope, nothing." she reported to Gwen. "No Rift activity around the same time, nothing on the same scale..."

"Are you sure no more like him came through?" Gwen asked her nervously.

"Cross-referencing with the rift activity monitor, doesn't look like it." Toshiko said confidently.

"That car's been impounded." Ianto continued to Gwen. "I'll get it back to the owner in the morning."

Gwen gave a curt nod and turned her attention to Owen, who had just emerged from the autopsy room. "How you doing, all right?"

He walked across and handed Gwen a file. "Bio-profile's onscreen now. Nothing in his genetic make-up likely to contaminate the city."

"Okay, Tosh, can you add that to the species database?" Gwen asked Toshiko, who nodded and turned back to the computer. "Ianto?"

"Hello." said Ianto, waiting for an order.

"Sorry, um, can you deal with the body when it's cold?"

"My pleasure... unless you mean making sushi." joked Ianto.

"No, the morgue'll do fine." smiled Gwen. "Thank you."

Jack, it seemed, had been watching the scene with as much interest as me. "Got pretty organized without me." he commented in the brief lull.

Gwen, working at a computer and typing furiously, didn't turn. "Yeah, well we had to." she answered sharply.

He appeared to sense Gwen was not as forgiving as he'd thought. He glanced around for a change of subject. "Hey, did you decorate in here?"

Gwen turned suddenly and I flinched, but she reached for Jack and pushed him up against a wall.

"You left us, Jack!" she yelled, and stepped away agitatedly. Toshiko, Owen and Ianto turned to watch the scene, apparently too eager for answers to interrupt Gwen. I was just glad that their attention seemed to be focused on Jack.

Jack sighed, defeated. I knew he wasn't going to argue. "I know." he said sincerely. "I'm sorry."

"I'm - I'm sorry too." I added, my face reddening with shame and guilt. While Gwen's attention seemed trained on Jack, the others seemed merely surprised that I was sorry - clearly they thought Jack had abducted me, or something.

"We knew nothing, Jack!" persisted Gwen furiously. Jesus, that girl is obsessed with him...

Toshiko looked from Jack to me. "Where were you?"

"We..." I began, when Jack didn't answer, but I found that as much as I wanted to tell them the truth, the words seemed glued to the roof of my mouth. I suddenly understood why Jack never told them about him. It would mean losing who he was. I looked to Jack, shooting him a look that plainly said 'No lying'. He seemed to understand.

"I found my doctor." he said simply.

Ianto gaped and looked directly at me. "You mean -"

I nodded wordlessly.

"Wow." gasped Toshiko.

"Did he fix you?" asked Owen.

"What's to fix?" Jack forced out. "You don't mess with this level of perfection."

Gwen gave a small smile.

"Are you going back to him?" asked Ianto, looking rapidly from me to Jack then back again.

"No." I answered softly.

"I came back for you." Jack told Ianto, seeming to forget about the others. I felt my heart drop with a thud to my stomach. Jack looked around at the others, and added hastily, "All of you. We both came back - for all of you."

"What happened to you?" breathed Toshiko, directing the question at me. I swallowed and looked down, unable to fathom the words, attempting to shield my face from view and pulling my sleeves down over my forearms.

"There's was a fight." Jack covered for me. "Nothing major, don't worry."

"How can you say that?!" asked Toshiko incredulously, gaping at him. He shrugged.

"Okay, so it was a _big_fight." he said nonchalantly, and I was thankful that he had chosen not to make a big deal of it. "But it's all sorted; everything's fine."

"Well, she's clearly not." said Owen, and made his way towards me. I was taken aback by his sudden... niceness. But still, I shook my head and moved away.

"It's okay. _I'm_ okay." I insisted.

"What d'you -"

Owen's question was interrupted as Toshiko's computer gave a loud beep. She turned around swiftly and read the information displayed on the screen.

"Rift activity!" she reported, and everyone pulled away from the group. I headed over to Toshiko's workstation with her, but glanced at Jack, who was edging towards the others. He caught my eye and shot me a supportive smile. I didn't return it.

"There's been a surge of Rift activity in the city." Toshiko informed us. "And a reported 'accident' at the same time, in pretty much the same place."

"Could be another fish-thing?" Ianto suggested.

"No, the readings are completely different." said Toshiko.

"Okay, well I reckon we should head over there." suggested Gwen, and the others agreed. Jack and I followed them out of the building cautiously, Jack obviously not wanting to try to take charge again just yet.

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A/N: Crummy ending, yes, but never mind. =D And no, I'm not going to re-write the whole of series 2 Torchwood. Don't worry. I have plans. And a maths exam tomorrow. -groan-


	52. Friend Or Foe?

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure that even if I _did _own Doctor Who, the Rose!Bashers would ambush me before I manage to get any of these ideas in.**

A/N: O_O We surpassed 300 reviews. I know that's not much of a big deal considering how many chapters there are, but still. Wow. Thank you.

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**Friend Or Foe?**

Minutes later, the Torchwood team was standing outside a building, huddled around a bench, analysing the body of some poor guy who'd been pushed off a roof. Yeah, very interesting.

Long story short, the guy had been pushed off the building by an alien. The interesting bit happened just when we were about to get back into the SUV. Just as Jack's hand reached the car door, there was a loud beeping sound - coming from his wrist. My eyes snapped up instantly to the device.

"Whoa, that never beeps." Ianto noted as Jack pushed a button to cease the beeping.

"That's what I was thinking." said Jack.

"Didn't... Didn't he reconfigure it, or something? How can it be beeping?" I asked, astounded. Jack glanced at me, his expression similar to how I was feeling, and when everyone was gathered around Jack, he pressed another button on the Rift Manipulator and a translucent blue hologram came flashing into view. I took a step back with surprise.

A man was stood in front of us. Or rather, the 3D hologram of a man. He looked about the same age as Jack did, and wore what seemed like a military uniform, though it was completely different to Jack's. It comprised of a pair of what seemed like leather trousers, a dark long sleeved jacket, and two gun holsters at his waist. The colours were impossible to make out, but it was definitely military.

"I can't believe I got the answer machine!" the man said, somewhat bitterly. I didn't recognise him, but a glance at Jack told me that he did. "What can you be doing that's more important than me?" the man continued. "Anyway, you've probably traced the energy shift, found the body. All me, sorry about the mess. Bill me for the clean-up. Now -" he clapped his hands cheerfully and rubbed them together, and I looked around at the others, who all seemed as clueless as me, "- Drinks! Retrolock the transmission coordinates, that's where I am. And hurry up, work to do!" He put on a girl's voice, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!" And then he vanished.

Jack hesitated, then spoke firmly, "Stay here; don't come after me." and stepped into the SUV. I made to get in the back, but Gwen stepped in front of me to get to Jack. My arm connected with her outstretched hand, and I looked down to see a wedding ring resting on her finger. I looked up with surprise.

"Who was that?" she asked Jack, astounded.

"Stay here." Jack repeated, and he pulled away.

"Oi!" I cried out indignantly as I realised what was going on, and Gwen started, rushing after him.

"Jack, wait!"

"Whoa!" Owen called after the car as it rounded the corner. He stamped down on the ground in frustration. "You see that? He swans back in and then he shuts us right out."

"You're gettin' married?" I asked Gwen, turning on her and giving up on Jack. She looked down at her ring and turned back to look at me.

"Yeah. Rhys." she added at my frown, then turned away again to look at the road the SUV had just disappeared down. I moved over to Toshiko, who was pulling something out of her bag.

"I'm not having this." Gwen was saying.

Toshiko pulled out her tracker and waved it in the air. "I can track him!" she offered, and an ear-piercing whistle sounded from Ianto.

"Taxi!" he yelled, just as one turned around the corner. That was convenient.

"Did you know him?" Gwen asked me as we clambered into the taxi and gave the driver swift instructions

"What?" I asked, taken by surprise. "No! Why should I?"

"Well, you seem to know more about 'im than the rest of us." said Owen.

"Reports coming in of a bar disturbance." Toshiko said, interrupting us. "Same coordinates as the SUV."

"Tell the police we're dealing with it." Gwen told her.

"Okay, so who the hell was he?" started Owen.

"I don't know!" I denied truthfully.

"Looked like Jack recognized him." Ianto suggested.

"Why didn't he let us go with him?" asked Toshiko.

"'Cause it's typical Jack, isn't it?" Gwen said bitterly. "Disappears, comes back, then he runs away again. Shuts us out. We don't even know his real name." I swallowed guiltily.

"Or which time he comes from." added Toshiko. They all turned to me, and I occupied myself with reading the safety information on the back of the seat in front of me.

"Exactly." agreed Gwen, ignoring my presence. "He's supposed to be our boss, and we know nothing about him. It drives me crazy!"

There was a pause, and we drove on in silence.

"It is more fun when he's around, though." said Ianto suddenly.

"Yeah. " agreed Owen, and Gwen and Toshiko both muttered their agreement.

- - - - - - -

One taxi drive later, we were hiding in a pub as we listened to Jack and this mysterious man discuss the Time Agency - clearly he was also a former Time Agent, and former "friend" to Jack. Apparently we weren't the best spies though, and the man beckoned us out soon after we arrived. He revealed that he was looking for some bombs, or something, and Jack told us we were going to help him find them. It seemed fair enough, since if we didn't, they would probably explode and blow up half the city.

And so, the adventure began. We'd only been back for a day.

After a small bout of power-struggling (mainly between Jack, John - the former Time Agent - and Gwen, no surprise), we were split into teams and instructed to search specific areas for the canisters. I was sent off with Owen and Toshiko to an abandoned warehouse. Jack and Ianto went to some office somewhere, and Gwen accompanied John to the docks.

All was going well. We found the canister, Owen and Toshiko were getting along well (I'm pretty sure she still fancies him), and we were just about to leave - and then John entered, unaccompanied. He head-butted Toshiko and pulled out his gun on her. Owen tried to reach Jack over the comms, but John had killed the signal, and there was nothing either of us could do. I tried to back away into the shadows, but I'm not exactly a master of stealth, and John pulled me back and pushed me down by Toshiko. In all fairness, he had a gun - I wasn't going to resist. Oh yeah, and then he shot Owen. Then knocked me out with a cricket bat.

Some people have serious issues.

I'm not really aware of what happened after that - the next thing I knew, I was in the SUV with Owen, Toshiko, Ianto and Gwen, and we were heading back to the Hub. According to the others, John had taken all the canisters, paralyzed Gwen, and was now back at Torchwood. So that's where we were headed.

We rushed into the building, guns raised, and found John in the autopsy bay with the blowfish. He was placing a silver pyramid shape on top of a square base delicately, but froze when our guns clicked in warning. He turned around, momentarily speechless.

"Oh-kay." he breathed, with the pyramid piece still clutched in his hand. "Pretty and resilient." he directed at Gwen. "Is that even fair?"

"Maybe you didn't realize." she responded firmly. "You can beat, shoot, threaten, and even poison us, and we keep coming back. Stronger every time." I snorted. I wasn't feeling any stronger than before.

"Well, I think you ought to know," John said casually. "Your boss is splayed out on the -" he froze as Jack stepped into view from behind us. "- pavement." he finished lamely. "Now that's impressive. Seriously, you can earn a fortune in the Vegas galaxies with an act like that. Go on, how's it work?"

"I can't die." revealed Jack impressively.

"No. But, really..." laughed John.

"No. But really, you can't kill me." insisted Jack. "No matter how many times you try. I can't die. Ever." He walked down the steps towards John.

"But what does it cost you?" John asked. "Every time you have to drag yourself back here, how does it feel? All that pain and trauma. Plus, you're reborn into this godforsaken mess. I pity you."

"These people." answered Jack without hesitation. "This planet. All the beauty you could never see. That's what I come back for.

"Well, goody on you." John replied, clearly not impressed.

"What's in the canisters?" asked Gwen.

"Come-clean time, Captain." added Owen. God, he sounded like he was off some bad Western film.

"Yeah, all right." John sighed. "That woman I told you about? Had herself an Arcadian diamond, the rarest gem in the Damascene Cluster. Just when I'd got my hands on her, she only generates her own personal riftstorm. God, I hate technological geniuses."

"You said this was a dying woman's request." Toshiko frowned. I stayed out of it, since I had missed half of the action.

"Yeah, she was dying. I shot her." John said casually. I snorted again. This man didn't know subtlety. "Thought my luck had changed when I found it had ended up here. So, I'm thinking 50/50? Even split, good deal. Or if anyone fancies an orgy...?"

I smirked, but Jack seemed less amused. He led John up to the office.

Now, all of this would be be well and good - well, not really, but you know what I mean - if there had actually been some sort of prize at the end of it all. But John had been tricked by this woman, and was in some sort of grave danger... or something. He ended up with a bomb attached to his chest. Shame. He was starting to grow on me. You know, except for the whole knocking-me-out-with-a-cricket-bat thing.

Anyway, he was about to blow up, and he handcuffed himself to Gwen, so she went through the whole self-sacrifice rubbish while Owen, Jack and I tried to save her, and while John hit on poodles. Weirdo. Who likes poodles? But we did it. We sent the bomb into the Rift, and then everything reverted to the night before. Yeah... that bit was a little odd.

And then Gwen punched John (told you she was crazy) and Jack pretty much told him to get lost.

But then came the interesting part. Just as Jack gave John his Vortex Manipulator back, and a magnificent golden glow engulfed the former Agent, he said something that sent a chill down my spine - and if I'm right, Jack's too.

"Oh!" he had said, seconds until he would fade away into the Rift. "By the way... I meant to tell you. I found Gray."

My mouth instantly turned rough and dry as rock. My eyes bulged and I cast a look to a mortified Jack. I turned back to John, who smirked, then faded into nothingness before us. And the night was black once more.

"Jack?" I asked, my voice scratchy but eerily calm. Jack looked over to me in shock, devastation clear on his usually cheery face.

"Who's Gray?" asked Gwen, and Jack and I broke eye contact.

"It's nothing." Jack told her. Another lie, another deceit. "Let's get back to work."

I rushed up to him as he took the lead, the rest of the team following silently behind.

"Jack." I said firmly, looking up at him as we walked. "Jack, he was lying, right?" Jack didn't respond. "Jack, tell me he was lying."

"I don't know." replied Jack with forced ease, and he sped up his paces, leaving me to trail behind with Toshiko.

There he went - our leader. Always hiding, always shying away from honesty. Even lying to me. Would that ever change? Would anything change again? Every time I saw him, I was reminded of our past. Would that feeling ever go away? That deep down longing for what never could be, that nostalgia; would it pass, or would it cling to my mind for my entire life?

And what about the loneliness and guilt, the pangs of sorrow that coursed through my thoughts each time I was reminded of Rose? Would I ever be free from them? Would I ever be allowed a dreamless sleep, free of endless corridors and blinding lights?

So many questions, and yet so little time for answers. The irony of the statement was enough for me to ponder as we spent the night in the shadows.

* * *

A/N: I know, sooo boring, but I thought I should do a bit of Torchwood series 2, just for the sake of it. It's a bit rushed though, because I wanted to get on to the next bit, and this wasn't all that exciting. I just love James Marsters. =D

If I ever take so long to update again, you have my permision to force feed me virtual!peas until I do. I have issues with peas.


	53. Martha Jones

**Disclaimer: If I _did_own Doctor Who or Torchwood, rest assured that David Tennant, John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd, Naoko Mori and James Marsters would be forbidden to leave. Ever.**

A/N: I'm skipping over quite a bit of series two, and I'm coming back in at the interesting bit. Because I can. Oh, and I love Martha post series-3 Doctor Who, so I'm going to be a lot nicer to her now.  
I'm sorrryyyyyy! I need to update quicker, I know. I have a feeling the peas are going to start the attack soon...

* * *

**Martha Jones**

And so, on went the world. Torchwood continued, as if nothing had happened, with case after case of alien happenings piling up the paperwork on our desks. The world span around, and people carried out their mundane lives, with no idea of the events unfolding around them.

I visited Sarah Jane once, just to let her know what had happened. It wouldn't be safe for me to keep going back to her, what with my baby-self also visiting her every couple of weeks, but I had to see her once more. Maria had left, gone to America, which explained why the baby-me wouldn't see much of her as I/she grew up (and therefore why I had only met her a few times in my 'past'). I had never before fully appreciated the difficulties of Time travel.

Luke and Clyde were well though, as was Sarah Jane. They were all happy for me, though Sarah Jane seemed somewhat worried about the implications of there being two of me at one time. I explained to her what the Doctor had told me before I left - that as long as we didn't encounter each other again, everything would be fine. After a few days there - as much time as I could risk - I returned to Torchwood, to find business as usual in the Hub.

A month passed, and the Doctor returned, right on time. But there was no Martha. She had returned to her family, persuing once more her dream of becoming a doctor. The TARDIS felt strangely empty without her, but the guilt of the thought led Rose into more of my dreams, each night I spent with the Doctor. It wasn't the same, and harder for not having someone else there to break the tension. We were still father and daughter, but the dynamics were all wrong. He had gone to see Jackie (the Jackie in 2007) to explain the whole teenage-me-arriving-at-her-flat-in-2007 thing, and reassured her that everything was fine. We went to see her in 2022 and spent a week or so there, and I spent a few nights more with the Doctor before he returned me to Jack, like a package to be looked after while he was away.

Aside from the fact that the entire team seemed to have forgotten two entire days of their lives, everything seemed normal back in the Hub. Well, as normal as it ever was. (The Gray incident was still not forgotten.)

That is, until Martha Jones showed up.

We had just been studying the body of a man mauled by a Weevil (but who apparently wasn't killed by a Weevil) in the Autopsy bay, when Ianto announced the arrival of a "V.I.P visitor" over the intercom. Toshiko and I shared confused glances as Jack made his way up to the entrance.

"Jack?" I called after him, perplexed. We all followed him up and waited as the cog door's alarm sounded.

"Suddenly, in an underground mortuary, on a wet night in Cardiff, I hear the song of a nightingale." Jack said cheerily. I gave him a bemused look and he winked. What was he planning?

The door rolled open to reveal two people. "Miss Martha Jones." Jack presented with a flourish. I let out a squeal of excitement and rushed over to Martha, a grin on my face. We embraced like old friends, disregarding the others present, and only parted when Jack cleared his throat pointedly.

"Sorry." I grinned, though I wasn't. Martha pulled away and walked toward Jack.

"Oh, it's good to see you, Jack." she sighed as they hugged. My smile grew.

"Toshiko. Owen, Gwen, Ianto -" listed Jack, pointing each member out to Martha, and Ianto gave a small wave, "- meet Martha."

"Uh, just a casual visit, or...?" Owen began as Martha made her way forward. Martha smiled at him.

"I'm here to complete your post mortem." she told him cheerily, and walked past Owen with a big black case in her hand, leaving the doctor looking - for once - very confused.

"Dr. Jones is from UNIT." added Jack in explanation, and followed Martha to the autopsy bay. How did she know where it was? And how had she become a doctor so quickly? Owen followed with me, Toshiko and Ianto, and Gwen ran after us.

"Oh, um, sorry, sorry, I get a bit confused." blundered Gwen. I sighed. "Which one's UNIT?"

"Unified Intelligence Taskforce." I reeled off.

As Martha and Owen headed down into the main bay, we all gathered above them, leaning on the railings and looking down on the two with interest.

"Intelligence, military, cute red caps." Jack told Gwen. "The _acceptable _face of intelligence-gathering on aliens. We're more ad hoc. But better looking." he added, winking at Martha. I rolled my eyes, still grinning.

Martha placed her kit-case down and opened it, then pulled on a pair of gloves and a coat.

"I identified a pattern from UNIT's data on sudden deaths." she told us all professionally as she moved. "Toxic shock. Nothing to link the victims. Different ages, sexes, ethnic origins, occupations. But there was a statistically significant concentration in South Wales." She picked up a magnifying light and began to examine the body.

"Come on, Martha, be honest." said Jack. "You just came all this way to see me."

"Still struggling to conquer your shyness, Jack?" replied Martha cheekily, still working. Jack laughed.

"So what about this pattern, then, Dr. Jones?" asked Owen. You could tell he didn't like having the limelight taken away from him.

"They were being written off as suicides or accidents." Martha told him as she shone a light in the man's right eye. "Look, puncture mark. Hypodermic needle. You'll find his bloodstream was pumped full of ammonium hydroxide."

"Yeah. Bloodstream. That was the thing I was going to do next." nodded Owen.

"Have you checked his medical records?" asked Martha.

"Uh, no. I was just about to." Owen said hastily. I smirked.

"Well, let's give it a go." said Martha. "You never know, Owen, you might learn something."

Owen looked back up at us, at a loss for words. I suppressed my laughter at his lost-lamb expression, and turned to my right, where Jack was grinning down at him.

I love reunions.

* * *

A/N: It's a shorter one, but you'll get more soon. I promise. Oh, and people seemed to like the idea or torturing chibi!Jack with peas the next time he's mean to Alli... You guys are harsh.  
-hides a few bags of peas from view- What? I said you were harsh, not that it was a bad idea.

(Oh, and Martha Smith - last chance. Update soon or I shall unleash the peas. -evil laugh- Hehe... Seriously though, update.)


	54. The Guided Tour

**Disclaimer: Still don't own a laptop, still don't own the rights.**

A/N: Okay, not that this story was ever accurate, but in light of recent Torchwood spoilers (brought to my attention by Martha Smith, thank you), this story will now probably be very AU. For those of you who know what I'm talking about: one word. Alice. That's why.  
Now, yay for filler chapters (and some rare original dialogue!).

* * *

**The Guided Tour**

I found Ianto in the coffee room as I wondered down later to make myself and Toshiko a cup. "Hey Ianto." I said cheerily, and he smiled back.

"Hi." he said, sounding a lot happier than he looked. "How're things?"

"Good." I said simply (and half-truthfully) as I reached into the cupboard for a mug. "And you?"

"Oh, y'know... same old." We exchanged grim smiles as I reached for a second mug. He sighed. "Well, it's just Jack and Gwen, isn't it?"

I almost dropped the mug to the floor. "What?!" I asked, startled. I had only been with the Doctor for a week or so; we can't have missed that much. "I thought she was gettin' married?"

"Well, she is, but..." he looked at me curiously, "Well, you can't say you have noticed."

I let out a sigh and slumped against the counter. "You're right." I agreed dismally. "Definitely something goin' on."

We stood in silence for a while, and I contemplated the situation. Should I just give up on Jack? Would my heart ever let me? It seemed impossible; I'd already had to get over him once before, could I really do that again? I supposed I would have to...

I was brought out of my reverie by the sound of Ianto pouring coffee beans into my two mugs.

"Oh, thanks, Ianto. Sorry." I mumbled, turning red with guilt at my thoughts, but he was too preoccupied with filling the mugs with boiling water to notice. "Hey, any luck with the team? You know, gettin' them to let you in?" I asked, relieved for a change of subject. Since I had returned, Ianto and I had made a pact to try to fit in more with the others. Ianto had never really been seen as part of the team before, and the same went for me. I thought I was doing quite well, but I couldn't help wondering how Ianto was getting on.

He smiled. "It's good, yeah." he said as he slid the coffees down the side. "Going well. Had a lot more to do lately."

I smiled warmly. "I'm glad."

- - - - - - -

I took the coffees to Toshiko as she continued to hack into the NHS's system to track down some 'lost' data, then kept one for myself, and headed up to Jack's office/my bedroom. I passed Owen in the morgue as he continued his research on the body, but Martha wasn't with him. With a grin, I looked up the stairs and saw her figure moving around in the office. So, while the others worked, Martha, Jack and I took a break. Well, less 'break', more 'catch-up time'.

"Who's bed is that?" Martha was asking as I entered the office/bedroom with my coffee, closing the door behind me.

"Alli's." Jack said, nodding at me. "Which reminds me, we're gonna have to get you sorted out with a proper room, now that you're here permanently." he smiled. I grinned back, then looked across to my corner of the office, with my pictures and notes on the wall, my clothes dumped in the chest at the bedside, my things scattered across the lilac duvet.

"So..." Jack said, and I tore my eyes away to look at him. "End of the World Survivors Club." He was sat behind his desk, with Martha exploring the room. She sat down in front of the desk and I walked forwards with a smile.

"God, I am so glad to see you two!" she exclaimed.

"See, you did come all this way just to see me." said Jack.

"Mmm, or maybe it was me - y'know, the one she _actually_ spent half a year with." I cut in with mock indignity.

"Nah, it's the jaw line." insisted Jack. "Once seen, always yearned for." I laughed with Martha.

"So, what's new with you?" I asked cheerily.

"Well, aside from all the work changes, I've got a boyfriend." she announced happily.

"Seriously?" I asked with glee. "What's he like?"

"He's a doctor too." she nodded. "Tom Milligan. I, uh... well, I actually met him last year."

I hesitated. "You mean -?"

"Yeah." she nodded. Jack started. "Don't worry, it was only for a day or two, but he really helped me out - helped all of us out. I haven't mentioned anything, obviously, but... yeah." she shrugged and sighed, and there was a moment of silent contentment.

"Do you miss Him?" asked Jack. We didn't have to ask who he meant.

"No." Martha replied immediately. "I made my choice." I raised my eyebrows, and Jack shot her a doubtful look. "Okay, maybe sometimes."

"Ah-ha!" smiled Jack.

"Tiny bit!" insisted Martha. "Tiny, tiny. Then I come to my senses again. Anyway, I've got plenty to occupy me."

"Oh, yeah, Miss High-falutin' - What is it? Medical officer?"

"Oh, yes." said Martha, sitting back in ease.

"So, do we have to call you ma'am?" asked Jack cheekily, sitting on the edge of the desk. I snorted.

"No. Just follow my orders to the letter." smiled Martha.

"But how did it happen?" I asked, confused. "I mean, so quickly?"

"You should have called me if you were looking for a job." added Jack.

"I wasn't!" Martha said quickly, then looked at me. "This woman from UNIT rang out of the blue, said I was just what they needed, that I'd come highly recommended by an 'impeccable source'."

My eyes widened. "What?" This sounded fishy.

"You mean...?" Jack pointed upwards. I looked up frowning, then realised who he meant.

"Well, who else would have done it?" asked Martha, leaving me feeling quite the idiot. Luckily, I was ignored.

"He must have thought he owed you a favour." Jack said, nodding slowly. "Guess we all do." He paused thoughtfully. "So, do you think you could get me one of those red caps, for personal use? I'm thinking Ianto might look good in it."

I looked away awkwardly, feeling my cheeks burn. I knew it was over between us, but did he have to rub it in my face? Or was this just his way of pushing me further away?

Martha stood up, presumably sensing my unease. "You want uniforms, get your own. Now, am I going to get the guided tour?"

Jack stood abruptly and saluted Martha. "Yes, ma'am, whatever you say, ma'am!"

"Leave it!" warned Martha, and they walked out laughing.

I kicked the sofa/bed as I followed. "Great."

"So, that's the hot house." Jack was saying, indicating the office. Gwen approached from the other side of the balcony as Jack began to descend the stairs. "Tour continues this way, ladies, please. No dawdling."

Gwen tapped Martha's arm lightly and the two of them remained at the top of the stairs. "Um, so, you know Jack pretty well, then?" I rolled my eyes. Wasn't she engaged? Shouldn't she just back off?

"Oh, we were only together for... a few days." Martha waved away the question. "But it was pretty intense."

Gwen's eyes widened. "You mean...?"

"Oh, God, no!" Martha denied immediately, and I saw her eyes flicker towards me with concern. I turned abruptly, caught off guard, and walked away. "No, not that sort of intense. Nothing like that." I heard Martha say. "Why? Are you and him...?"

"No, no, not at all." denied Gwen. I paused near the stairs and strained my ears.

"We must be the only two people on the planet." joked Martha, casting another quick glance in my direction, and I looked away from the two of them.

"I know!" agreed Gwen. "What are we doing wrong?" They both laughed.

"Oi!" called Jack impatiently. "You talking about me?"

Gwen and Martha walked around to the top of the staircase, which I was now slowly climbing down.

"No, no, we were just discussing alien flora, weren't we?" said Gwen innocently, and Martha nodded.

"Oh, yeah." agreed Martha.

"She's no fun." Jack told Martha. "Raise your game, girls!"

Martha and Gwen grinned at each other as they followed Jack and I down the steps.

When Martha reached the workstations and Jack introduced the area with a flourish, she gazed around in supposed wonder. She reached for an alien gadget that had been the source of a few disagreements in the Hub, and Gwen took a seat nearby.

"You've got some well weird kit." she commented. "What's this?"

"Be careful." warned Jack. "It's an alien artifact."

"No kidding." I muttered, just loud enough for Martha to hear. She visibly suppressed a giggle.

Owen joined the group and reached out to take the device. "Yeah, There's a lot of argument about this." he said casually. "But for my money, it's got to be a surgical instrument."

He pressed a button and the instrument came whirring to life.

"Really?" asked Martha with interest.

"He's guessing." interjected Jack. "Typical medic."

"Mmm." Owen murmured vaguely, examining the item. "Okay, right. Well, I call it a 'singularity scalpel'. See, what it does is it concentrates energy on a tiny fixed point without damaging anything on the way. It's brilliant."

"It's amazing." said Martha, impressed, as Owen picked up a paper cup from the side and reached for a piece of paper off someone's desk.

"It's dangerous." I butted in, though amused.

"Yeah, do you remember the last time you did that, Owen...?" warned Gwen. For once I agreed with her.

"Yes, yes." replied Owen non-chalantly. "Right, now, all we're going to do is, we're going to vaporize this paper without even scorching the cup." He screwed the paper into a ball and placed it in the cup, then put the cup on the desk in front of us.

"This is going to end in tears." Jack said to Martha, who looked half-amused, half-worried. He led her to a safer area, behind Owen rather than at his side. I took a step back as well.

"Okay." said Owen confidently, and pointed the 'singularity scalpel' at the cup. He began to twiddle the dial on the side to adjust the polarity, studying the screen intently. Gwen pushed her chair back nervously.

Just as Owen pressed the button on the side, Ianto emerged from the staircase with a tray of drinks. A pulse of energy was ejected from the device, hitting the workstation in the corner and missing Ianto's head by centimetres. I gasped and bit my lip as Ianto yelped and stumbled, and the cups on the tray were sent flying into the air. Martha's hands jumped to her ears in shock and Gwen shrieked with surprise.

Ianto turned to the machinery hit by the ray, then to us, and glared at Owen. My gasp turned into a (failing) suppressed grin.

"Uh, haven't quite got the calibration right yet." said Owen, in way of apology. Gwen snorted, and then laughter erupted from her lips. Jack soon followed suit, and I could only bite back so many laughs before I was with them. Martha looked bemused.

"You'll get used to it." I told her cheerily, wiping the tears of laughter out of my eyes.

Ianto stepped forward, pulled his suit down professionally, regained his posture, and looked directly at Jack. "Jack." he said simply.

"Mmm?" replied Jack, trying to stop laughing.

"There's been another attack." he reported, and our smiles vanished instantly. "Assault with a hypodermic. Only this time, the victim survived. Woman, aged 27. She's in the hospital. Medical records wiped, just like the others."

Owen put the machine back on the table wordlessly, and Gwen stood up from her chair to... go do whatever it is she does. I left Martha and Jack with a wave, then headed towards Toshiko's desk to see if I could be of any help.

* * *

A/N: I loved the 'scalpel' scene, and I just couldn't resist.  
I hope I'm a little nicer to Martha here. I wanted to get across the fact that Alli's still a bit bitter about the whole thing though.

If I haven't said already (and I probably have), I have a new poll up! It's about Jack. Go, vote, now! But review on your way out.


	55. The Pharm

**Disclaimer: One day, Azure was skipping around in the magical land of pixies and fairydust and giant sized candyfloss flavoured lollipops, and she discovered that she was holding the rights to Doctor Who. She screamed with joy for a little while, then she woke up and realised it was all a dream. If anyone happens to end up in the same place, Azure would like to encourage you to kick all the pixies, those gloating, spoilt, devilish little things...**

A/N: Please don't kill me... How is it that even though I'm not in school any more, I can't find the time to write?! =(  
I'm a big TOwen shipper, so I added a hinty scene for you. Because I can. Enjoy.

* * *

**The Pharm**

While Jack, Gwen and Martha went to talk to the victim, I sat at my desk next to Toshiko's, trying again and again and again to break into the NHS' system. With no success, I needn't add. We were on our third cups of coffee and bored out of our minds when Ianto rushed past us up to Jack's office, muttering something about a meeting.

When we got up to the conference room, everyone else was already there, gathered around the tables, with Jack at the head of the room in front of the board.

"Nice of you to join us." he smiled as we slipped into two chairs at the table. "Now, Gwen, Martha and I have been questioning this woman, Marie -" he gestured to the photo of a woman on the wall behind him "- about her attack, but she knows nothing. Martha and Owen have been conducting investigations on the method - of attack, I mean."

"We think the point of the attacks is to destroy evidence of their medical condition." chipped in Martha. "Anything pointing to an answer has been erased, and as you know, all the medical files have gone too."

"Locally, we've got a murder victim and a survivor. Both attacked with hypodermics, both with their medical records wiped." Jack explained.

"And more cases across the UK." added Martha.

"So, Gwen, Ianto, pursue the criminal investigation." ordered Jack, and Gwen nodded.

"Okay." Ianto and I shared a triumphant glance at his inclusion.

"Martha, Owen will follow up with the medical side."

"Fine." said Owen.

"Tosh, Alli, any luck in retrieving those medical records?" asked Jack.

"Not yet." sighed Toshiko as I shook my head. "We're gonna have to dig down into the system memories, see if we can find any remnants of deleted or temporary files. Completely illegally, of course."

"Do what you have to." said Jack. "We're not dealing with a freak with some needle fetish. This is a conspiracy."

We headed back down to our computers and got to work, with me trawling various organisation's sites for any information on more attacks or the previous ones, and Tosh hacking into the NHS and UNIT's files to find the missing data.

I tapped Toshiko on the shoulder when a report popped up on the news page. "Tosh, look." The report was regarding another attack. Toshiko glanced over, read through the article, and pressed her intercom.

"Ianto, the police have found another body in Heath Park." she said, reading off the page. "From the initial reports, it's got all the hallmarks of the other attacks."

"I'll get Gwen, head out there now." Ianto's voice sounded over the comms.

While, Martha, Gwen, Owen and Ianto headed out to check on various victims, Toshiko and I stayed behind, still trying to retrieve the records and keeping an eye out for any more attacks. They seemed to be getting more frequent. After half an hour with no luck, however, our attention drifted. Well, _my_ attention drifted. Or rather, vanished completely.

"So, what's goin' on with you an' Owen, then?" I asked abruptly, turning in my chair to face Tosh. She swivelled around looking surprised, and I grinned.

"Well, not a lot, to be honest." she said softly. I grimaced sympathetically. "I mentioned it once or twice, suggested we go out for a game of pool, but... he didn't get it."

"Sorry." I said truthfully. "But don't worry. He'll come around!" I smiled in a vain attempt to get her grinning. "Well, keep trying. Why don't you bring it up again sometime?"

"I suppose." she said noncommittally, clearly not believing a word of it and not intending to bring it up again. "What about you and Jack?"

I shook my head and snorted. "Over." I said bitterly.

"What?" Toshiko asked, shocked.

"Well, y'know, what with him an' Ianto, and everythin' that's happened... It just wouldn't work." I said honestly but grimly. "And... to be honest, I think he's over it." I sighed.

"Really?" she asked, looking concerned. "D'you think -"

At that moment, Jack came out of the conference room, from which I could see the figures of Martha and Owen stood by the table. "Ianto, Tosh, Alli, Gwen: conference room, now." he called down shortly, then disappeared back into the room.

Ianto appeared from the kitchen and followed Toshiko and I as we made our way up to the room. Gwen came up soon after, and soon enough we were all sat around the table as Martha and Owen presented their findings at the head of the table. They told us how the victims were being attacked. This drug, 'Reset', was being tested in some medical research centre, 'The Pharm'. Reset was the reason for the victims' perfect health - it destroys anything harmful. But the Reset drug came packed full of tiny alien bug-things, which grew and grew until the ripped open the unlucky volunteer.

The reason for the deaths-by-hypodermic-needles were simply destroying the evidence. The Pharm couldn't risk people finding out about the suspicious deaths and alien parasites, so they were killing the volunteers off by (more or less) injecting them with bleach. The medical records were being wiped by the Pharm as well - again, to destroy evidence. These people were organised.

Jack and Owen went off to investigate the Pharm, while Toshiko and I got to work hacking into their databases. Every so often, one of us would call for the other, thinking we were in, but no such luck. We sent a bored Ianto to try to find them through drug-testing advertisements, but he was having no luck either. After an hour or so or trying (and talking), Jack returned.

"We can't hack in there, Jack." said Toshiko firmly. "And if we keep on trying with a brute-force approach, they'll know they're under attack."

"An alien life form is preying on the human bloodstream." he persisted. "I need a way in there."

"Tosh, Alli, I've got the results of that research." called Ianto, right on cue. He pressed a button and the data on his computer screen appeared on Tosh's. "On the screen now."

On the screen was a website - 'tralsportalUK' - where various institutes were asking for clinical trial volunteers. And there, at the bottom of the page: The Pharm.

"Bingo." I said cheerily, as Martha and Owen appeared at the top of the autopsy bay, and made their way over.

"Ianto, that's brilliant!" cried Toshiko. "They're in the market for volunteers."

"That's understandable, given their wastage rate." joked Jack.

"Then one of us goes in undercover." suggested Gwen, who seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

"I'll do it!" I offered, eager to get back into an adventure. Torchwood was great, don't get me wrong, but I wanted so much to be back out there, exploring, running, getting caught.

"No, we don't know enough about the workings of that place." dismissed Jack. "Too many things could go wrong."

"Unless you were to put a medic in there." said Martha. "Someone who knew what to look for." She wasn't thinking... or was she?

"Yeah, but I can't do it." sighed Owen. "They know me now, don't they?"

"I know it's hard to believe, Owen, but I wasn't thinking of you." smiled Martha. She couldn't be serious...

She looked to Jack, but he shook his head. So apparently she was serious. Well, she certainly had the expertise...

"No way." said Jack firmly.

"Come on, Jack, I've been in worse places and you know it."

Jack seemed to consider.

"Jack, she's got a point." I agreed with a shrug, thinking back to that Year. She's handled power-crazy Time Lords and evil metal spheres; I was sure she'd be able to handle a few bugs.

I glanced across at Owen, who shook his head at Jack. Jack turned to the others, deep in thought, but Toshiko and Gwen's expressions were unreadable. He turned back to Martha, who gave him a you-know-it's-the-right-thing-to-do look, and he nodded. "Okay."

* * *

A/N: Short, but a tiny bit original, at least.


	56. The Infiltration Begins

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Which I'll gladly share with you all.**

A/N: Again, I'm so sorry. But what with college and Prom and other random stuff, I've just had no time to update. Please, just put the peas away.

* * *

**The Infiltration Begins**

Whilst Ianto sorted Martha out with a back story and the layout of the building, amongst other things, Toshiko took me down to the archives.

"What is it we're lookin' for, exactly?" I asked, as we searched through the items hurriedly.

"These contact lenses." she explained as she rifled through packages and boxes. "They work as cameras - we found them with an alien a while back and I thought they might come in useful. Must have been... years ago, now. Before you came along, anyway."

"Cool." I said simply, and began searching again.

"Found them." Toshiko announced soon after, holding up a tiny clear plastic case, and she grinned.

- - - - - - -

"How do I stay in touch?" Martha was asking, after she received her new identity: Samantha Jones, University student.

"Communication's very tricky." said Toshiko, stepping forward. "The whole place could be wired. We don't want you chattering away to us and being overheard."

"But I want to monitor you at all times." explained Jack.

"So?" Martha shrugged, and Toshiko nodded to me. I held out the open case, containing two almost invisible contact lenses.

"I don't need contact lenses." frowned Martha.

I smiled. "You need these."

"Follow me." said Toshiko, and she led us over to the computers, where we had just set up the cameras. I passed Martha the lenses and a mirror, and we waited for her to put them in. As soon she did so, Owen made a few checks and made sure everything was okay, then stepped back and looked to us.

"Okay?" he asked, and we stepped away from the monitor, which was now showing Owen's retreating figure through Martha's eyes. She lifted her hand, and it was displayed on the monitor.

"Oh, I'm a camera!" she cried happily.

"As Chris Isherwood once said to me, when we were cruising the Kurfurstendamm." said Jack casually, and Owen rolled his eyes. I smiled.

Toshiko nudged me and I began typing into the computer.

"And we can text." she said as I pressed enter, sending her a short message through the cameras.

"Wow!" Martha exclaimed, genuinely in awe of the technology.

"Power comes from the body heat, so they only work when you're wearing them." explained Toshiko.

Owen laughed. "Yeah, so you have to wear them _everywhere_."

"Well, I'll be doing some things with my eyes shut, then." grinned back Martha.

"In case of an emergency, we can speak directly to you." added Jack, ignoring Owen's quip.

"The lens will communicate with your sensory neuroreceptors. Bypasses the auditory system." I explained, remembering what Toshiko had told me minutes before and what the Doctor had taught me about communication devices years ago.

"But can't these signals be intercepted?" asked Martha, waving her hand around experimentally in front of the lenses.

"Alien technology." said Ianto shortly. "Which exploits a solution to the EPR paradox."

"Oh, quantum entanglement of remote particles." said Martha casually. "Okay, cool."

"Yeah." said Ianto, dumbfounded.

Jack grinned slyly. "Did I mention she was brilliant?"

- - - - - - -

After several goodbyes, and many warnings from Jack, Martha - or rather, Samantha - went to the Pharm building to register for the trials. All was going well, she got the placement, she 'checked in', and everything was going according to plan.

Back at the Hub, Ianto and I were chatting by the coffee station, laughing at something Jack had said a few days ago regarding a water ballon, some glue, and a very delicate body part. (You don't want to know.) I saw Toshiko and Owen through the doorway at the workstations, talking casually. I put a finger to my lips, looking towards Ianto, and he immediately silenced and looked towards the door. We edged closer, just out sight, but just about able to make out the conversation.

"- only interested in work." Owen was saying.

"Do you think?" asked Toshiko. Ianto moved closer to the wall to hear better.

"Yeah, a bit of flirting so I'll show her the ropes. Plus, if I tried anything with her, I think Jack would have my kneecaps." So, was it Martha they were talking about? Before I had time to ponder, Owen was speaking again. "What happened to that, um, pool tournament you were organizing?" I subconsciously held my breath in anticipation.

"That? It was never a tournament." Toshiko replied non-chalantly.

"What was all that about, then?" Owen asked. I crossed my fingers. _Come on, Tosh..._

"It was supposed to be a date." she blurted out. _Could've been smoother, but at least it's out._

"Sorry?"

"I was asking you out on a date."

"A... A date?"

Toshiko faltered. "You didn't realize?"

"You and me?" asked Owen, sounding bemused.

"Yeah."

"I see. And... you still want that?"

"Yeah."

"Right."

"I just thought if we spent some time together, an evening..." suggested Toshiko.

"All right." _Yes!_

"Sorry?" She sounded shocked.

"Let's do it."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No."

"You're being polite." insisted Toshiko. "You'll stand me up." I could see where she was coming from. If he did, though, he'd have me to answer to. Prick.

Owen laughed. "No, I've just said yes, haven't I? Look, one date, see how it goes, which might be nowhere."

"That's fine. A drink."

"Okay."

"Yeah."

Mission accomplished. I grinned, turned to Ianto and high-fived him. We'd been waiting for this day for months. He turned to the coffee machine and started to make a batch.

"How about the fancy mugs, to celebrate?" he asked with a grin.

- - - - - - -

Meanwhile, at the Pharm, Martha was getting checked into and settled in her room. When night fell, we were called to the workstations. After a whispered congratulations o a bemused Toshiko, it was time for some innocent snooping.

We sent Martha on a little adventure around the area, monitoring her safety through the camera lenses. I couldn't help but be a tad jealous. I missed the adrenaline and excitement that came with that sort of thing.

We got her through to the Administration room, with only one close shave, and Toshiko and I got to work getting the information. Soon enough, we had control of the Pharm's computer systems, and were studying the Mayfly - the deadly alien parasite that came with the Reset drug.

We downloaded the information and got Martha "out of there" - on Jack's instructions. He really is quite protective. Cue another stab of jealousy.

Then, all hell broke loose. The alarms in the Pharm began to sound. At first, I thought it might have been us, tripping the computer system, but an announcement came through of a "Breakout in Zone A". Naturally, Martha wanted to investigate. I was all for it, but Jack and Owen refused. They ordered her to get away. She didn't listen, and climbed through a window to get outside to 'Zone A'.

That was when Gwen noticed that one of the murder victims stated in the Pharm's records - which she had naturally decided it was important for her to have a look at - was yet to be murdered. Gwen and Ianto were told to get to the soon-to-be-dead woman before the Pharm's hit man got there. Another secretive thumbs up for Ianto.

Martha, meanwhile, was conducting her own adventure. She found her way out to Zone A, where armed soldiers were searching for something that "shouldn't be approached". My nerves grew. _She'd better come out of there alive..._

"What the hell is she doing?" asked Owen as we watched with bated breath, clearly as worried as I was. "If the Pharm have their own hit man, God knows what they're capable of."

"Yeah, and I put her in there." said Jack. I immediately felt a surge of guilt. I'd suggested she go as well.

And then we lost vision. The cameras cut out and everything went black on the screen.

"Shit." said Owen.

"What was that?" demanded Jack, as Toshiko and I leapt to work.

"Radiation surge?" suggested Toshiko as she typed frantically into her computer.

"Whatever it is, we've lost the signal." I reported, working at my own computer helplessly.

"I can't get her back." said Toshiko.

"We have to get her out of there." ordered Owen.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" I asked as I turned to face him, pissed. At least _we _were trying. His eyes said clearly what he was suggesting.

"No." said Toshiko flatly. "That place is swamped in security. If we try and steam in, we'll be putting her at risk!"

"We can't leave her there, can we?" argued Owen.

"If I can't get her signal back in thirty minutes, then we think of alternatives." said Toshiko reasonably.

"I'll help." I muttered, walking briskly round to Toshiko's side of the desk where the lenses were linked to the computer system, and typing into the screen next to hers.

"Anything could be happening to her in there." said Owen.

"Martha can handle herself. She's been in worse situations than this." reasoned Jack. Why did he keep bringing this up if he wanted to keep it such a secret?

"Sure about that?" said Owen, with heavy doubt clear his voice.

"You don't know the half of it." I said coldly.

* * *

A/N: authorsnotehere


	57. The Chase

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood. If I did, DAY FOUR WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED LIKE THAT. Jesus...**

A/N: How many times do I have to say I'm sorry before you believe me? =/ I don't really know why it's taking me so long to update! -facepalm-  
Anywhoozles, very sad chapter. =( To match the very sad Torchwood last night. I'm still depressed. HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO ME/US?! Meep... I hate Gwen even more now. ='(

* * *

**The Chase**

Soon enough, Toshiko and I found ourselves alone at the workstations, trying everything we could think of to get vision back on the lenses. Gwen and Ianto had returned with the hit man, who Jack, Owen and Ianto were now "questioning" - though it sounded more like torturing - for information. Turns out we were right in thinking he had been sent by the Pharm to destroy evidence of the Reset in the clinical trial subjects: by killing them. Sick place.

We were all set to use him as our way into the Pharm - despite Toshiko's insisting it wouldn't be safe for us or Martha - but that plan was impossible after Billy The Hit Man (I'll spare you the details) exploded. He had inhaled one of the Mayflies from his victims, it had grown inside him, and then burst out. He was dead. But Toshiko, being the twisted genius she was, came up with another plan. She worked out how to use the hit man as a kind of 'puppet', manipulating his actions enough to get us into the Pharm.

If I had any doubts about Toshiko's plan, I was wrong. We got into the Pharm with no problems whatsoever, using Billy as the 'driver'. Toshiko, Gwen and Ianto were sent to check out Zone A , while Jack, Owen and I went after Martha. I was startled, to say the least. Usually, I would have been sent off with Toshiko or Ianto. Confused but excited, I ran after the two men as they legged it towards the building.

We got there too late, it seemed. We burst into the room, guns blazing, and Martha was already strapped to the operating table, body convulsing madly.

"Hands above your head!" yelled Jack, waving his gun around wildly. My Copley - the man in charge of the company - put his hands obediently in the air. I rushed round to Martha's side and grabbed her hand, turning to the monitor by her side nervously. Owen approached the table at the other side, pulled off his backpack and began rifling through it.

Jack's attention fell on Martha. "What have you done to her?!" he demanded.

"Tell me that's not Reset!" Owen muttered, his eyes flicking up to the IV Drip attached to Martha.

"She's survived the larval stage, the only subject ever to do so. Fascinating." Mr Copley answered Jack with sick wonder. Owen checked Martha's pulse frantically while I held her arm still. Copley turned and typed something quickly on the monitor. _Shoot him!_ I willed Jack silently. "Turns out these bugs practice sibling cannibalism. Only the strongest individual is left now. God knows what happens next."

Owen turned his gun on Copley. I stayed with Martha, brushing her hair away from her face and holding her calmly, not wanting her to hurt herself but unable to help.

"Put a stop to this!" yelled Owen.

"I can't." Copley refused, not faltering as Jack raised his gun once more. I looked up at the scientist, alarmed. "I don't know how."

I looked back down to Martha, who gasped in her subconsciousness. "Owen, _do something!_" I hissed at Owen as Martha began to writhe and jolt. Owen looked up at Jack helplessly. If Martha died here I'd never forgive myself. "OWEN!"

"Jack, this thing's killing her." Owen told Jack. "I don't know what I can do."

"Owen, stay calm, there's gotta be something." insisted Jack, his gun still trained on Copley.

Owen looked down at his backpack. The singularity scalpel was poking out of the top.

"Oh, no you don't!" I yelled as he reached for it.

"Jack, I can give you a report on Zone A." a voice said suddenly through the intercoms. My grip on Martha loosened slightly with surprise. "They're holding dozens of creatures. They seem to be using them as test subjects."

"Understood, Ianto. Tell Tosh to go for total shutdown." said Jack into the earpiece, then he turned to Copley. "This place is a torture chamber."

"I don't need to debate medical ethics with you." argued Copley - though, being the one with the gun pointed at him, I didn't particularly think he was in a position to negotiate conversation topics.

"You abused the Mayflies, you turned them into parasites!" yelled Jack. At the foot of the table, Owen was preparing a syringe.

"Owen, what're you doing?" I asked Owen worriedly. He injected Martha with the liquid wordlessly.

"I'm closing this place down." said Jack, still talking to Copley.

"In your dreams. This is a state of the art, official facility."

"Oh, I'm not going to do it by sending a memo. We're in control of your IT systems. As we speak, we're crashing your data banks, wiping your records."

"That's cyber terrorism!"

Owen pulled out the singularity scalpel. "Owen..." I warned, speaking loudly over the top of the conversation between Jack and Copley. Did Jack realise that while he was giving Copley a detailed description of how we would shut down his company, Martha was lying here, helpless, on the edge of life?!

"It's fine!" Owen replied, though he looked anything but confident.

"Owen, if you hurt her -"

"Jack! I need your help!" Owen cut me off. Jack rushed around to Martha's other side and helped me hold her down as her body convulsed madly. Owen fiddled with the dials on the side, and Martha began to writhe even more. I pressed my weight on her to keep her steady.

"What the hell are you doing to her?!" demanded Jack.

"Jack, Copley!" I yelled, indicating at the door which Copley had just tried to slip out of unnoticed. Jack reached for his gun, but I was already at the door. No way was he getting away with this.

"Be careful!" Jack yelled back to me.

"Just save Martha!" I shrieked back.

"This is the only way we'll save Martha." I heard Owen saying as I rushed out of the door, pulling my gun out as I ran. "I think I understand how it works..."

I looked ahead down the corridor, and saw Copley running around the corner. I fired the gun once and missed, the bullet ricocheting off the wall. I chased him through an endless maze of corridors, my gun trained on him, my legs running separately from my body. I stumbled once, caught my foot on a pipe and fell to the ground, but I puled myself up and ran straight after him, wiping my bleeding lip with my hand. But he was healthy for his age, and by the time I had caught up with him, we were outside.

"Where's Alli?" I heard Jack asking as he, Owen, Martha, Ianto and Toshiko walked out of the building. I came to a halt just behind Copley, intending to put Jack's teaching to good use and arrest him, at least. I made to reach out to him and push him against the nearby car.

"Alli, no!" shouted Ianto - that's when I noticed the gun. He had pulled it out - when, I couldn't be sure - and pointed it at Martha, who was stood at Owen's side. I caught Jack's eye and he signalled for me not to take action. I rolled my eyes and signalled to Copley - how fast were his reactions? Fast enough to stop me? Fast enough to shoot before he fell? He had to be stopped, and I was the only one with my gun out. My hand clenched, my finger on the trigger, but I couldn't do it.

"Did you really think I was going to let you just walk away?" Copley asked cynically. Owen, about to get into the SUV, walked over with his hands in front of him. He stepped in front of Martha. "You've ruined everything I've worked for. "

"Now, let's not be stupid. Okay?" said Owen unsurely. Gwen hesitantly pulled out her gun. "We're both rational men, scientists." He moved closer to Copley, whose arm twitched. I tried wildly to signal to Owen. He was going to shoot! I could tell. His arm was clenched, he was perfectly focused; what was Owen _doing_? "I know you don't want to shoot." _NO!_

I somehow knew what was coming. My mind seemed to go blank - my eye trained only on Copley. I fired the gun but two shots sounded. Had I fired twice? No, impossible. But Copley began to sink, he fell to his knees and then to the floor, a dot of red swirling rapidly until his white coat was reddened with blood. He lay there, unmoving, as my mouth fell open and my gun fell to the floor with a clatter. My hands shook, my own blood on my fingers. My lip was still bleeding from my fall. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fallen body of Copley. He was dead. I had killed him...

The horror of my actions was replaced only by the gasps. Toshiko shrieked. I looked past Copley, my eyes watering and my lip quivering. Owen fell, hard, to the concrete. The empty shell casing of the bullet clinked on the floor. I had been too late; Copley had already fired at Martha and Owen had taken the bullet. And though I had not pulled the trigger at him, I knew the terrible truth. Owen was dead. And I had killed him.

* * *

A/N: Poor Alli.


	58. Survivors Guilt

**Disclaimer: Judging by the lack of updates recently, it's a very good thing I _don't_ own the shows, or nothing would ever get done. =S**

A/N: I keep changing my mind about how to play out the TW series 2 finale. =S Got a few different ideas... I'm getting there.

* * *

**Survivors Guilt**

The others rushed over to Owen, and I followed hesitantly, my breath hitching in my throat.

"Owen!" Martha was yelling at him as his face twitched painfully. "Can you hear me? Owen?!

"You've got to help him!" insisted Toshiko desperately. Martha got up and stepped away from the group, and we all closed in around Owen.

"Owen, stay with me. Owen?" Jack said frantically, shaking Owen's arm. The medic breathed heavily, writhing on the ground, his face pale. "Owen, look at me, look at me. Owen, look right at me; stay with me, Owen, stay with me."

"I'm sorry!" I breathed, kneeling next to Owen, horrified, as his chest heaved rapidly. "I'm so sorry..."

"Stay with me, buddy." Jack was still saying firmly. "Come on. Come on."

Martha rushed back over and pushed through; Jack moved obediently to the side, and she injected Owen with a clear liquid in a syringe.

"Owen, speak to me!" she said loudly, but Owen didn't say anything. I looked up to Toshiko, who was rubbing her hands together obsessively with worry, and Ianto, who merely looked at me in shock. I looked back down as Owen's harsh breathing suddenly stopped. He seemed to splutter, blinked several times, and then stopped. He just... stopped.

"Owen?" I called anxiously - at least, I think I said it out loud. Martha picked up his wrist and checked for a pulse. I looked at her desperately, trying to read her expression. _Please don't let him be dead_, I pleaded, _I know I hate the git, but please don't let him die, not because of me..._

Martha looked up to Jack, her eyes sparkling. "He's dead." she said softly, as if she couldn't quite believe it. The air escaped silently from my chest. _No..._

Jack glanced down at me, and then to the others. Gwen looked stunned, and Ianto shared her expression. Toshiko looked heartbroken, and I felt a stab of sorrow for her. But he couldn't be... It was all too fast. It couldn't be true...

"Owen..." someone whispered.

"He's not." I shook my head. "He can't be. Martha there's gotta be somethin'." Toshiko sank down to her knees next to Owen's body. My eyes prickled. Jack's expression had already hardened. "There's - There's gotta be somethin' you can do!"

Toshiko reached out and stroked Owen's limp hand softly. She was crying. I pushed myself up, stumbled around to her and put my arms around her. She was shivering. I don't know if she realised I was there, but she didn't shake me off. I looked away from Owen, unable to watch him any longer. Ianto let out a choked sound and I heard footsteps behind me, towards Jack, who stood up as well and walked towards Ianto. They were in each other's arms in seconds, consoling one another. Martha had stepped back already and was retreating towards the SUV. For that moment, in Owen's death, I felt so alone, for the first time. More alone than I had felt when I'd been lost in 2007; more alone that I'd felt when I'd learned of Rose's death. This time, there was no one there to save me.

I could see flashing blue lights around us. The police that had arrived to take away the Pharm workers had called for an ambulance. The siren wailed as it approached, but Toshiko didn't seem to hear. She just stroked Owen's hand over and over, tracing patterns on his cold, hard skin. At some point, I stood up shakily to my feet. Jack was talking to the paramedics, explaining that we were going to take the body. That's what he said: "The Body", as if he hadn't even known Owen, as if it was just another corpse, another body, another death. Perhaps, for him, it was.

Ianto and Martha had a stretcher - presumably taken from the ambulance. I watched as they lifted Owen's body onto it and carried it towards the cars.

- - - - - - -

The journey home was thick with silent despair. The only sounds were the low rumble of the engine and Toshiko's occasional sniff.

As soon as we reached the Hub, I broke away and walked up to Jack's office. Everyone else except Jack headed down to the autopsy room with Owen's body. I couldn't bear to watch. Why had I waited? Why had I not shot Copley a soon as I'd had the chance? But that trail of thought left a hole in my stomach. I had killed a man. I murdered a living, breathing man.

With nothing else to occupy myself with, I started to gather up my things. Jack had found me an apartment less than five minutes away from the Hub - one bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom - perfect. My vision blurring slightly, I pulled my suitcase out from under the makeshift bed and started to throw my clothes in. I've never been particularly neat, but I soon found myself unpacking and repacking, spending way too much time trying to fold up all of my clothes, focusing on every little detail in an attempt to forget.

But in a matter of minutes, my suitcase was thrown across the room in frustration and I was perched on the end of the bed, running my hands through strands of greasy hair, my jaw set and my eyes leaking few fresh tears.

I've been trained to use a gun. I carry one around pretty much 24/7. I know how to fire it, how to reload it, how to disassemble it and how to reassemble it. I've pointed it at a giant red fish and _almost_ pulled the trigger.

But never before, in my entire life, have I shot somebody.

They don't tell you this. Jack didn't tell me this: the feeling that creeps into your stomach after your 'first kill'. The monster that sucks out your happiness and replaces it with guilt. My hands shook.

I don't know how long I sat there, not moving, not thinking, just staring at my shaking hands. A phrase popped into my head from somewhere unknown. _Survivors guilt._ But this didn't seem like guilt. Guilt was lesser than this. It wasn't just remorse, it was terror; fear at what had happened, at what I'd done - though at the time, it was mere emptiness.

I stood up gingerly, my eyes no longer watering, but raw and reddened. I considered my reflection in the mirror - there seemed nothing else to do, or at least, nothing else important. I looked far from attractive. There was a thin scar running down my face, a reminder of my days in torture. My blonde-brown hair was hanging limp against my face, my lips were blood red and chapped, and my eyes were pink and puffy. There was thick line of grey running down my right cheek where my eyeliner had run. I found a wet-wipe and began to rub it away. The cold wipe was a relief against my hot, flushed skin.

I heaved a long breath, picked up my case from the floor, and began to repack, focusing my thoughts on mundane things - what would I do first with the new apartment? Would I maybe get a pet? What would be a good name for a cat?

I was just trying to decide on a name - having narrowed it down to a black cat named either 'Matsi' or 'Midnight' - when Jack burst into the office at a run with a large, heavy looking box.

"Wha - Jack?" I said, stumbling over my words. I wiped at my eyes, though I knew I was no longer crying, and looked up. He placed the box on the desk, looking pained.

"Jack...?" asked Gwen as she ran in after him. Jack opened the box just as the others walked into the office. I couldn't see what was inside.

"What's going on?" I asked, frowning, my voice croaking.

"Jack, what have you got?" said Gwen.

Jack reached into the box and pulled out what looked like a large, metal glove. It was made of dozens of metal plates, and looked dead uncomfortable to wear. No one spoke.

"What is it?" I asked after a few seconds.

"Oh, my God." breathed Toshiko.

"What?" I said, dumbfounded. It was only a glove, what was the big deal?

"You can't use it." said Gwen firmly. "Not after Suzie."

"Who's Suzie?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

"I'm using the glove." said Jack. "I'm bringing Owen back." My eyes shot open.

"You - wait, what?!" I exclaimed blankly, my mouth hanging open. "You're... you're going - _what_?!" Now I was completely confused.

"You can't!" persisted Toshiko. _What?!_ Why didn't she want Owen back?

"It brings people back to life." Ianto told me as Gwen protested to Jack loudly. My eyes widened. "Dead people."

"No kidding..." I said faintly. Then I snapped out of my reverie and realised what he was saying. "Well, that's bloody brilliant!" I cried, my voice unnaturally high. "Let's do it!"

"NO!" shrieked Gwen. Jack was rushing out of the room.

"It's not permanent." explained Ianto as we followed Jack out of the room at a sprint. "And last time we used it... well, it was..."

"Disasterous." provided Toshiko quietly. She looked paler than usual. We had reached the autopsy room without realising.

"Are you really going to use that after what happened last time?" said Gwen angrily. "Jack, the gloves are dangerous. At best it'll give us two minutes. At worst... who knows what will  
happen?"

"It's not up for discussion." said Jack, stony faced and determined. He walked briskly down to the bay, where Owen's cold, pale body was lying on the table. I averted my eyes. Martha was stood at his side.

"I thought the glove didn't work for you?" said Gwen, clearly still trying to put Jack off the idea. But he was not to be deterred. He hooked the heart monitor up to Jack, and the flatline sounded.

"Different glove, different circumstances." said Jack. "This time, it has to work for me. I'm not going to give it any choice."

I stood beside Ianto at the top of the bay, my mouth open. I wanted to interject, to say that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all, but the words wouldn't come out.

Jack pulled the glove onto his left hand and looked around at us pointedly. "If you've got anything you need to say to Owen, now is your chance."

We were silent as Jack held his gloved hand to Owen's head.

* * *

A/N: Yep, the phrase "survivors guilt" is from Harry Potter - it's what Hermione says Tonks has in book 6. ;D Don't ask me how I know that...


	59. Resurrection

**Disclaimer: Trust me, if I owned Torchwood, Owen would be King of the Weevils forever. ;D**

A/N: A tad original. -shrug-

* * *

**Resurrection**

We all stared with anticipation as Jack held Owen's head with the glove. He closed his eyes and looked up, his face grim in concentration. I glanced around the bay. At the top, leaning on the rails above the others, I looked on at the scene below, too afraid to interrupt the act. Below me stood Ianto, Martha, Toshiko and Gwen around Owen's lifeless body on the table, and Jack was stood by his head. Martha seemed stunned with curiosity and shock at what was going on, Toshiko was still crying silently, Ianto was studying the heart monitor with a stopwatch in his hand, and Gwen looked just about ready to murder Jack, but at the same time, eager for him to continue.

"Owen..." whispered Jack over the quiet crackle of electricity. "It's Jack. Can you hear me?"

He opened his eyes, and his mouth twisted, his face screwed up with determination. "Owen! Hear my voice! Get a hold of it, let it draw you out, pull you out." If the situation had not been so serious, I might have laughed.

"I'm not getting any vital signs." said Ianto, pointing to the heart monitor.

"Owen, it's me, Jack!" said Jack, louder. He looked down suddenly. "He's coming, he's coming!"

The heart monitor began to beep loudly, shooting harsh pulses through the bay. It happened as fast as he had died - Owen's eyes flew open and he screamed. My hands jumped up to my mouth. He was alive! He was moving, his body twitching as he awoke. He cried out in horror and pain.

"Oh, my God!" exclaimed Martha in shock. I stumbled backwards, my eyes wide.

"What happened?" shouted Owen blindly. "Where am I? Oh, God I'm shot, he shot me!"

"Owen, listen to me, we don't have long." said Jack calmly. I swallowed, disbelieving, and walked towards the stairs down to the bay, tripping over my own feet as I crept hesitantly down the steps.

"Where am I?" demanded Owen, stumbling over his words with panic. "This isn't the hospital, this is the autopsy room." he mumbled unintelligibly, his voice hoarse. "What am I doing here?" He turned his head slightly and must have caught sight of the glove. "Jack, oh, no! What's that? What's that?"

"The resurrection glove." said Jack loudly over Owen's heavy breathing. "We lost you, but I brought you back." He walked around the table, his hand still firm on Owen's head, and grabbed Owen's hand reassuringly.

"How long have I got?" asked Owen as I reached the bay and walked to Martha's side.

"We're at thirty seconds and counting." answered Ianto, glancing at the stopwatch.

"Oh, no. Jesus. Really?"

"Okay, team, say your goodbyes." said Jack, and Owen mumbled something that sounded sarcastic. I felt dizzy with panic. This was terrible. How could they _do_ this?!

"Gwen." said Jack, looking at Gwen. She didn't say anything.

"Gwen, no offense, but I've only got two minutes to live!"

I rushed forward and hesitated at Owen's side, surprised at myself.

"I'm sorry!" I blurted out at Owen, my heart racing. "Owen, I'm sorry!"

Owen spluttered. "What're you - why - Alli, shut up." he said quickly, his chest heaving. My mouth opened and closed, but I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I walked back to Martha. She wrapped an arm around my shoulder, staring at Owen fearfully.

No one else moved. "Tosh!" prompted Jack, and Toshiko ran to Owen's side.

"I'm gonna miss you." she said, her eyes still watery. _Say it, Tosh!_I thought desperately. She leaned in to his side and whispered, "And I love you. I always have." I breathed out with relief. Toshiko walked to my side, and I put my arm around her waist. She moved closer, wiping tears away from her eyes.

"Owen, I need the code for the alien morgue." siad Jack quickly. "You're the only one who knows it." _What?!_

"You brought me back for that?" cried Owen. "For that?!"

"Sorry!"

"Oh, Jack, it's 231165." he said, and Ianto muttered the number under his breath several times to remember it.

"Okay?" asked Owen.

"Sorry, and to help you prepare. I know what death is. I want you to be ready."

I gaped.

"There's nothing." said Owen, his voice quieter. "Just... just darkness." Martha's hand stiffened on my shoulder.

"Two minutes." said Ianto.

"Jack, Jack..." whimpered Owen. My free hand flew to my mouth in horror.

"Be brave! Owen!" Jack ordered, and Owen seemed to gather himself. The heart monitor began to beep faster. "Owen!" He closed his eyes.

The monitor flatlined. Jack released his head, but kept a firm hold on his hand. Toshiko was crying softly at my side. We all stood still, silent, scared. I closed my eyes as tear ran down my burning cheek.

"I'm really gonna need that hand back."

My eyes flew open and my hands fell to my side.

"Owen?" said Jack, astounded. Owen was lying on the table, stock still, but his eyes were open.

"Two minutes twenty." reported Ianto.

Jack backed away. "Look, I'm not using the glove." He held up his gloved left hand.

"But I'm still here." said Owen.

"Oh, here we go again." breathed Ianto.

"Again?!" I asked, exasperated. Jack threw the glove off his hand - it fell to the floor by Gwen, who shrieked and jumped away.

Everyone stared as Owen sat up, panting, his chest pale and bare except for the large crimson hole in the centre of his torso. "Maybe I cheated it somehow." he blundered. "Maybe... I wasn't meant to die, so I'm being kept alive. Ah, somebody pass me my pants, please." He looked down at his chest. "Whoa!" he yelped. Jack and Ianto rushed forward - Jack to tend to the wound, Ianto to offer Owen his clothes.

I looked up at Martha, and we shared an astounded expression. What the Hell was going on?!

"- You'll get used to it." Jack was telling Owen. I spluttered.

"You - but - Jack, he's dead!" I said, my eyes wide but my brow furrowed.

"Yeah, thanks, I did notice." said Owen loudly.

"I - Sorry." I said meekly. "But... How're you - y'know, here?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?!" Owen yelled angrily. I stepped back with raised eyebrows, but didn't reply. Toshiko was pale.

"Let's go get some coffee." I suggested quietly, as Owen picked up a stethoscope. Toshiko nodded, as we rushed out of the room and up to the coffee station.

"It's okay, you know." I told Toshiko as she wrapped her hands around her warm mug. "You're allowed to be upset." She smiled weakly. "Look, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll work it out. Jack'll sort it, yeah?"

"Yeah." Toshiko said soflty. She didn't sound convinced.

- - - - - - -

We were soon called out of the coffee room. Jack told us to draw up an analysis on the glove - apparently, Owen should be sucking the energy from Jack, but he wasn't, so we needed to work out where the energy was coming from that was keeping him alive. I did point out that, being immortal and all, Jack could probably give Owen a trillion years worth of energy and not notice, but we then found out that there was no link. Jack and Owen were unconnected. So where was Owen getting his energy from?

Well, we couldn't find anything. We studied the glove; we hooked it up to about a million different systems and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. We connected it to a computer system which would try to track down its origination, but that was all we could think to do. We were called into a meeting before we could try anything else.

"Owen's body's undergoing some kind of transformation. His cells aren't decaying, they're changing." Martha reported in the conference room.

"Into what?" asked Jack.

"An energy I can't identify. But it's growing, all the time. He's about 40 percent something else."

"Something else?" I asked, confused. Martha changed the image on the screen - it flickered onto a scanned image of Owen's body. I didn't understand any of the colours or signs, and neither did anyone else.

"I don't feel any different." said Owen. He was ignored.

"We need to find out where this energy's coming from." Jack said, looking pointedly at Toshiko and I.

"We're working on it." I said defensively.

"Presumably it's the same place as the glove, which, judging from its atomic makeup, isn't anywhere local." reported Toshiko, stating what we had found so far from the tracking system.

"Owen said he went somewhere when he collapsed." said Gwen. "Could the energy and the glove come from the same dark place?"

"What are we talking about?" asked Jack, folding his arms. "Another dimension? Parallel universe?" I glanced across at him with surprise, and he caught my eye but looked away immediately.

"Yes, guys, I'm still here." said Owen, waving from the side of the table.

"Sorry." said Jack, looking over. "Okay, you said there was something in the darkness, waiting for you."

"Yeah. I felt it, I didn't see it."

"Where do you think you went?"

Owen shook his head. "Don't know."

We were sent back to work, and all headed off to our workstations, but Toshiko went after Owen. I stayed out of it. Martha walked over to my station and had a look at the readings on our computers all hooked up to the glove.

"Where do you think he was?" I asked conversationally in the silence.

Martha sighed. "I don't know." she said, looking troubled. "What do you think?"

I thought for a moment. Darkness... Something waiting... There could only be one place.

"The Void."

* * *

A/N: Erm... apple pie anyone? It only costs a review per slice. ;D


	60. Theories

**Disclaimer: I do not own this disclaimer. Oh, right, or the show.**

A/N: I have failed you once again. And I'm going to fail you again next week. DON'T HIT ME, but I'm going to India. 8D So I won't be able to update for about 3 weeks. Sorry!! Soo... I'm going to put this chapter up (well, clearly I already have), then I'll put another one up, probably tomorrow (on Monday). After that, you'll hear nothing from me until the 23rd, at least. If I can manage it, I'll try and have one ready to put up as soon as I get back. Sorry! =3

* * *

**Theories**

"Ianto, Alli!" called Jack, as he walked briskly past our workstations, "Check our internal system readings for any dimensional anomalies in the last hour."

"Will do," confirmed Ianto, and my eyebrows shot up.

"I - Sure," I blundered, "Where's Tosh?"

Jack didn't answer, but I saw Toshiko follow Owen up to the bathrooms to the right, calling after him.

I look across at Ianto, who had joined Martha and me at Toshiko's workstation. "Right," I said confidently, "Let's get started."

Martha turned away, put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, then withdrew it hesitantly and walked away to the autopsy bay. I pulled up the Rift monitoring system, and Ianto and I began to trawl through it. When we finally got up the dimensional readings from the past hour, I cross-referenced the information with anything occurring in Cardiff, and began to examine the data. There was a sharp spike in the Rift energy levels around the same time Owen was - I shuddered - brought back to life, but that was to be expected, right? I mean, taking a soul and pulling it back into our world... that's got to leave a trace, hasn't it?

Except after a few minutes of staring helplessly at the machine, clicking random buttons in the hope for an answer, there was a loud, obnoxious beep, and the Rift energy levels spiked again. I looked across to Ianto, who was studying a similar program. The levels on that system had spiked as well.

"Where's Owen?" we asked each other simultaneaously. My eyes widened. Martha flew past us suddenly, a blur of colour, with a handheld device in her hand. She entered Jack's office, and a second later, the two of them rushed out in a panic. She must have picked up the same readings.

"Owen!" yelled Jack as he and Martha ran into the workstation area, "Owen?"

"He said he needed the loo," said Toshiko innocently, as she joined us at the workstations.

"Owen's digestive system has shut down," said Martha breathlessly, "He can't eat or drink. So he certainly doesn't need to pee."

Jack took his coat from Ianto as he pressed his mobile phone to his ear - presumably calling Owen. "He's not answering."

"Well, he's not in the hub," said Gwen from the CCTV station.

"So he's out there?" asked Martha worriedly.

Jack scoffed, "It's Owen, it's not like he's dangerous." Well, that was a matter of opinion.

"You sure about that?" asked Martha as the device in her hand bleeped.

"Meaning?" asked Jack defiantly, and he rushed towards the cog door.

"You had the power to bring people back to life and you never told UNIT," said Martha warningly, "Why?"

Jack turned around at the door. Ianto, Gwen, Toshiko and I watched silently. "They would've wanted to use it."

Martha breathed out shortly. "I'm on your side, Jack, but Owen's just had a surge of energy that we can't begin to understand. The cells in his body are being transformed into something else. He's about 50% human. And that 50% is dead. We need to stop thinking about him as Owen."

"I'll find him," Jack told us confidently, and he left without another word.

"Toshiko," I said loudly, turning to Tosh, "We've picked up two massive spike of Rift energy: one occurred when Owen was brought back, and one happened just now. We don't know why."

"He's just reached 50 percent, did you say?" asked Ianto speculatively, "50 percent of him is now this Something Else? Maybe it's that."

I pulled a face, "Not the most likely of things, is it? I'm guessing it was random. We've got no idea what this Thing is - maybe this is just going to happen every so often. It's gettin' it's energy from _somewhere_, maybe this is just that."

Toshiko shook her head, "No, I don't think so. Something has happened. Something important. It just feels... wrong. I'm going to check the CCTV footage; see if I can spot anything."

I gave a nod, and Toshiko turned away to the CCTV station. I looked across to Ianto and smiled sheepishly, "Couldn't make us a cuppa, could you?" I asked softly, and he grinned.

"'Course."

- - - - - - -

20 minutes later found Ianto and I sat at mine and Toshiko's workstation in almost silence, clicking randoms buttons on the computers to try to find out exactly _what _was going on with Owen. Our thoughts - mine of mostly my new flat - were interrupted when Toshiko gasped beside us.

"Tosh?" I prompted, looking across at her from behind the monitors. She was gaping at the CCTV footage, after finally finding a way through the system to find Owen. Ianto and I rushed around to watch the clip.

Owen, on the screen, was stood by the sinks in the men's bathroom. He was writhing, almost as if tortured, but stood up fully, speaking some unknown language. Absently wondering why the TARDIS was not translating for me, I gasped with surprise when Owen suddenly turned to look at the CCTV camera - and his eyes were completely black.

"What the Hell...?" I whispered slowly. Ianto nodded in agreement, apparently lost for words.

"What's happened to him?" asked Toshiko nervously. I rushed back around to the Rift energy monitor to check the spikes again. That wasn't random. Toshiko was right: something's happening to Owen.

Gwen rushed over to us at that very moment. "Jack called in, he's found Owen," she told us, sitting down next to Toshiko, "They're okay, they're coming back."

"Is he himself?" asked Toshiko fretfully.

"What do you mean, 'himself'?" asked Gwen, confused. Toshiko glanced at us, then turned back to Gwen and began to explain.

"I wanted to know why Owen left - actually, more if he talked to anyone about what I said - so I checked the CCTV," admitted Toshiko. Gwen smirked.

"That's a bit like stalking, Tosh." I shot her a glare which she didn't quite see.

"I know! Only now I wish I hadn't. Look." She replayed the footage just as Martha entered as well. They watched in silence as Owen spoke the ancient language. My mind seemed to shut it out - it was almost as if the TARDIS was refusing to translate it.

"Oh, my God," said Gwen gormlessly.

"What _is _that?" asked Martha, shock written on her face. Toshiko shook her head helplessly.

"We don't know."

* * *

((How weird is it if there isn't an author's note here? Oh, wait a minute...))


	61. Grandma Martha

**Disclaimer: -gasp- It'll be, like, three more weeks before I get to _not own _Torchwood again! Oh noes!**

A/N: So, the last update before I go to India. =D Enjoy!

* * *

**Grandma Martha**

"I need to know what Owen was saying," Toshiko told us later that evening, as we gathered in Jack's office to retrieve something from his safe.

"We all do," added Martha.

"I don't understand why the TARDIS isn't translating," I offered, glancing pointedly at Martha, "I don't know about you, but I've got a permanent connection with that ship; I've never come across a language I don't understand before."

"So, what's so different about this one?" asked Martha. I shrugged.

"I remember the Doctor saying once... about this language he couldn't understand. I can't really remember; but... it came from somewhere that... They said it was from 'before Time', or something," I frowned, "Maybe it's like that. Maybe it's the same language," I suggested. No one seemed willing to answer. Ianto pulled a small, sleek, metal device from Jack's archives.

"This has never let us down before," Toshiko said confidently.

"What is it?" I asked, frowning at the silver and black item.

"It's a translator," she said, "And if this can't do it, nothing can."

And sure enough, it did.

"So, the TARDIS - a piece of ancient Time Lord technology, the last of it's magnificent kind - has been beaten... by some piece of space junk?" I asked when we'd cracked the language, unimpressed.

"Hey! We spent years modifying and extending the boundaries of this!" said Toshiko indignantly. I grinned and held up my hands in a mock-surrender, and Toshiko smiled and turned back to the screen around which we were all huddled.

"I shall walk the earth and my hunger will know no bounds," read Ianto aloud from the screen.

"That doesn't sound good," said Gwen nervously.

"No... _Really_?" I asked her sarcastically.

"You don't know the half of it," said Jack grimly, entering from the doorway with Owen.

They walked across to us and explained what had happened. They gave news of being chased by Weevils through Cardiff. Owen was taken down to visit Janet - the resident Weevil here at Torchwood - where it was discovered that he had become some form of Weevil King. Trying hard not to get too freaked out, the rest of us attempted to embrace this news as if it were the weather forecast. Owen seemed to see through us. I wasn't surprised. Gwen's a terrible actress.

We all sat down around the conference table a while later, and Gwen reported some wikipedia article (or at least, that's what it sounded like) about a village haunted by death. Apparently, the village of St James (which later became Cardiff) had Death walk among its people for a while. Death took 12 lives, and was only stopped because of "faith". If it had managed to take a thirteenth life, Death would have taken hold of the Earth forever.

"Sounds like a fairytale to me," I said rather bluntly, after Gwen had given her analysis. The others looked at me curiously, and I scoffed, "Oh, come _on_! Death kills some people and the village stops it with their _faith_? It's just one of those stories grandparents tell their kids to make 'em believe in God. Y'know, _'Pray as though everything depended on God'_, and all that. They prayed for a bit, and Death went away."

Owen snorted humourlessly, but his expression froze when his electronic wristband beeped several times. He held it up and looked at Martha.

"You're at 80 percent," she said softly after studying her hand-held monitor. We only had until he reached 100 percent... That couldn't be long. Owen seemed to agree. He suggested embalming - freezing him to ensure he did not become the beast inside. That was the only way.

We said our goodbyes quickly - Owen was already at 95 percent when the procedure began. We all gathered to watch, as Jack strapped Owen into the chair, and Martha walked into the room. She reached for the needles, but stepped back with a yelp; I peered around her and saw the devilish metal glove on the table, covering the needles protectively.

Before we knew it, the glove had launched itself at Martha. I shrieked, but felt myself freeze as Jack darted forwards to help her. Ianto ran out of the bay instantly. The glove appeared to throw itself at Martha's face, forcing her down to the floor, her hands pushing and grabbing at it uselessly to get it off. Owen struggled helplessly with the buckles holding him down on the chair, and I leaped across to untie him, sparing a glance at the screaming, writhing Martha as I lunged forwards.

Jack was pulling at the glove now - he ripped it away from Martha with great force, and it hit the floor with a loud metallic _clang_.

"Alli!" Owen yelled - I had stopped untying his binds. I jumped back to action immediately, forcing myself not to look as I heard the glove crawling across the flagged stone floor and Martha dragging herself backwards towards the storage cabinets. I finally unbuckled Owen, just as Martha was lifted out of the autopsy bay by Toshiko and Gwen. She was shaking, her chest heaving. The glove had disappeared.

Ianto re-entered, brandishing an umbrella threateningly. I almost laughed.

"Don't move," Jack ordered us all, "Everyone spread out."

"Where'd it go?" asked Gwen stupidly.

"I think it went under the cabinet," said Martha, pointing to a cabinet next to Jack.

"Are you all right?" Jack asked Martha in the momentary lapse of action. Had they never heard of the calm before the storm? I drew my gun cautiously, but my eyes flickered to Owen, then to the weapon, and I grimaced, my stomach falling.

"Yeah, I think so," assured Martha.

"Good."

There was a loud metal clicking, like fingers on stone, and everyone turned hastily on the spot to detect the whereabouts of the glove.

"It's there," said Gwen, nodding her head in my general direction. I glanced behind myself, but when I looked back, the glove was in plain sight, directly in front of me. It leapt up and clamped onto Martha's face.

Martha screamed in distress and was slammed backwards into the wall. She slid down to the floor, pushing the glove off herself with all her might, but failing. Jack ran over, "Hold her!" he cried, and Gwen and Toshiko kneeled at Martha's side, holing her still and trying to remover the glove.

"Jack!" said Toshiko desperately. I edged forward to Martha, but Ianto and Owen weren't moving.

Jack gave a mighty tug, and the glove was pulled away from Martha's face. I gasped as she looked directly across at me, paying no attention as Jack struggled with the glove.

"Martha?" I said softly, the whisper seeming to carry across the bay. I was edging forward steadily, distracted only by Owen, who was now pinning the glove to the floor with his foot. He reached out and grabbed my gun, which had been hanging uselessly at my side. I was brought out of my reverie, and my attention turned from Martha to Owen.

"If you destroy it, the connection can be lost," warned Toshiko as the glove struggled on the floor.

"Jack!" prompted Owen, but Jack didn't give an order. "Now!" insisted Owen, his voice louder. Jack nodded shortly, and Owen stepped off the glove and quickly fired three shots into it. t stopped moving instantly.

I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding, and turned back to Martha, almost running towards her now.

"Martha?" I whispered again, unsure if she could hear me. The sight was terrifying. Her skin had aged, it seemed: grown decades older in the space of a minute. Her once youthful face was obscured by deep lines of wrinkles. I reached out to touch her hand comfortingly, and found that they too were wrinkled and discoloured. She stared ahead, unable to speak.

"What's happened to her?" asked Gwen.

"It's the glove," replied Jack, rather calmly, "It did this to her. Owen, help me with her."

Owen didn't reply, and I turned back to the monitor in alarm. It read 100 percent. Ianto had noticed too, but he was staring at Owen with wide eyes.

"Jack..." I began uneasily.

"Owen!" shouted Jack. My gun fell from Owen's hand to the floor and Ianto backed away fearfully.

Owen looked up at us suddenly, right into Jack's eyes... But Owen's eyes were no longer so. They were black, just black pits of everlasting darkness; holes of eternity and the colour of Death.

And then Owen began to speak, and his voice was low, distorted: a growl. "I will walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds." But then he gave a yelp, and he cried out in horror as a black gas rose out of Owen's eyes, nose and mouth. I gaped as it grew, surrounding Owen in a black haze as he screamed. He growled suddenly; a low, gut-wrenching, raw sound.

Jack stood up from Martha's side, surverying Owen with shock, but not fear. The black smoke gathered in a cluster above Owen's head; it lunged out, reaching towards us hungrily, and it disappeared into the air, leaves wisps of black smoke hanging in the bay.

"We've gotta get her to a hospital," Gwen was saying, her voice strangely quiet. I heard Jack mutter in agreement, and Ianto rushed off to get the SUV ready. Owen was stood, stock still, in the middle of the bay. He gasped and lurched forward - I stepped back in alarm - and began to breathe heavily. He seemed normal, so I edged forward, but Toshiko got their first.

"Owen, are you okay?" she asked quietly. He looked up at her - his eyes were back to their normal chocolatey brown, but they were wide and fearful. He looked, pleading, at Jack, who didn't say a word. I walked over to Martha, horrified at what the glove had done to her.

"It's okay," I whispered, not having any idea whether or not it would be, "C'mon, let's get down to the SUV."

I cast Jack a fleeting glance as we exited the autopsy bay. He was staring at Owen in what might have been shock, might have been confusion, might have even been fear. But I know one thing: I'd never seen his face so pale.

* * *

A/N: The quote is from "Pray as though everything depended on God, work as though everything depended on you." by Saint Augustine, if you were wondering. =D


	62. Death Defeated

**Disclaimer: Well, if one of you sues me for taking so long to update, I might not own ****_this_ soon either...**

A/N: Okay, first off, please don't kill me with peas! I'm already buried under a rather large pile of them. Take pity!  
Yeah, I know, I said I'd try and update as soon as I got back, but I've been CRAZY busy, what with losing things and finding things and exam results =S and friends, so there are my excuses. Pick your favourite and go with that. But YEAH! I'm back from India, it was amazing, and I'm not tanned at all. Ah well. Have some strangeness!

* * *

**Death Defeated**

We took Martha straight to the hospital - where, I might add, quite a few of the nurses seemed to think _I_ was the one in need of attention. Apparently, these damned ugly scars on my face make me look ill or something. That is, according to Owen. What they could do for Martha, I had no idea, but Jack seemed fairly confident. Only problem was, this thing that had possessed Owen had gone. Well, that wasn't the problem; the problem was that we didn't know _where_ it had gone. So we had pretty much just set Death loose in a hospital. Great.

And as if to confirm this, people suddenly started dying. And sure, that's not rare in a hospital, but with multiple 'code fours' (heart attacks) in one department, it was fairly safe to say that this was our doing.

Ianto and I were to stay with Martha and make sure she was okay; Ianto was ordered to keep count of the fatalities likely to have been caused by Death, and I was to look after Martha whilst checking Owen's well being on the hand-held monitor she had been using earlier. Owen and Toshiko were sent up to check on the rooms - we had evacuated the hospital and needed to be sure everyone was outside. Gwen and Jack were down at the bottom, searching for any sign of Death.

Suddenly, the death count was at eight.

"That leaves five to go," Jack had told us over the comms, as if we couldn't add up ourselves.

"What?" I heard Gwen say; supposedly Jack had pulled a face.

"There's five of us."

My stomach fell. "Thanks Jack," I deadpanned.

There was a pause, and then - "Jack, it was last seen on the sixth, did it go up or down from there?" asked Owen from the eighth floor with Toshiko.

"Most of the upper floors are evacuated, so if it's still hungry, I would guess that it's going to -"

"We're on the eighth," interrupted Owen, "We'll make our way down."

"Jack, we still have no idea what to do if we find it," said Toshiko.

"Ianto?" prompted Jack. I looked across to Ianto, who was staring at something on his laptop.

"I have searched for the phrase 'I shall walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds', but I keep getting redirected to Weight Watchers," he said. I snorted.

"It was a medical journal, History of Medicine," suggested Gwen, referring to what she had found earlier, "Try under Tavistock or Welkin."

"How're you feelin'?" I asked Martha in the sudden lull, as Ianto turned back to the laptop and nobody spoke over the comms. Martha didn't smile, she just looked at me, expressionless.

"People are dying," she said softly, "Because of us."

I swallowed hard, "We'll sort it out," I said, unconvincingly.

"But how can you - Alli, Torchwood is -"

"It's alright for you," I muttered bitterly, intercutting her statement, "You're a Doctor, you help people! Me..." I almost said it, but I couldn't bear the shame.

"Alli, you had to," said a low voice behind us. Ianto was looking up from his computer, his face pained, "He would've killed all of us before he surrendered."

I looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes. Martha raised her compact mirror and studied her wrinkled face with despair.

"I'm getting reports of twelve people dead," Gwen's voice blared suddenly in my ear, "The legend says, when Death took thirteen souls, its power would be unstoppable. It'd roam the earth forever, Jack. It only needs to kill once more."

Crap.

- - - - - - -

"Jack, we're stuck on the ground floor," Tosh's voice rang through the intercoms, "The doors won't open. I'm using the Decoder now, but it might take a while. Jack, where are you?"

"We're still making our way down," said Jack, "Get out of here as soon as you can. Alli, Ianto, you're still up there with Martha?"

"Yeah -" I said, but he cut me off before I could say more.

"Stay where you are," he said loudly, "No matter what happens, stay up there."

"But -"

"Alli, just do it."

I huffed and sat down on a cold metal chair beside Martha's bed. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the wall. Stupid immortal guy giving _me _orders.

- - - - - - -

"Ianto, what've we got?" asked Jack some time later.

"Back in 1479, the priest discovered that Death needed thirteen souls to walk the earth for eternity," said Ianto, repeating what we already knew.

"He stopped Death at twelve..." finished Jack.

"It was Faith," said Ianto simply, then his face lightened, realisation dawning on him as he scrolled down the page.

"I know!"

"No, the little girl who was brought back to life," Ianto said impatiently, "Her name was Faith. She stopped it."

"Well, how?" asked Jack.

"It doesn't say," replied Ianto, disheartened.

"Faith didn't have anything to lose. She was already dead," said Owen's low voice from the comms. It all went silent.

"What's going on?" I asked Ianto, confused.

"They must've turned their comms off," said Ianto, frowning.

"Jack?" I asked, pressing my finger to my ear and straining to hear over the sudden silence, "Tosh?"

Nothing.

"It's here. Isn't it, Ianto? It's Death!"

"What d'you mean?" blurted out Martha, suddenly alarmed.

"I dunno, maybe it's interfered with the comms; maybe they turned them off because they're fighting! Whatever, this must be it!"

"Alli, be rational -" began Ianto, though he too looked concerned. I turned to face him, my expression leaking sarcasm as I spoke.

"Right, because fighting off hoards of mutinous _aliens_ every other day makes for a 'rational' mind."

Ianto looked as if trying to restrain from smiling. "We shouldn't go down."

My expression turned to one of incredulity. "What?! How can we not go down?"

"I think Ianto's right, Alli," Martha chipped in. I swivelled around to her, shocked. She lowered the mirror slowly.

"What?!" I repeated, dumbfounded.

"It's not safe -" I opened my mouth to interrupt, but she pressed on, "- and they obviously have good reason for turning off the intercoms. Jack knows what he's doing, Alli."

I felt my cheeks start to flush. "I'm not - I _know_ that, but -"

"We should wait here for instructions," Ianto said, staring at his hands as they rested on Martha's bed, "Jack told us to stay put, let's just do that until we hear more."

"One more soul, Ianto!" I cried, my voice rising with indignation, "One more death, and it's free! We can't just sit up here waiting!"

Ianto just shrugged. "We should do what Jack wants."

I gaped. "They could be _dying_!" I pushed past Ianto to the door, "I'm going down."

My arm was yanked back and I stumbled backwards. Ianto was holding firmly onto my black t-shirt. "Alli, it's not safe," he said shortly.

"It's never safe!" I retorted, snatching my arm back and heading towards the door once more.

"Alli, you don't have to save _everyone_!" yelled Ianto. I stopped dead in my tracks, shocked, and spun around.

"What?" I asked quietly, astounded at the sudden outburst. To my confusion, Ianto's face was gleaming with embarrassment. He didn't speak. "What d'you mean?" I asked, my stomach dropping centimetres every second.

Ianto looked away at the floor, and sighed shortly. "Alli, you're not... It's not always up to you, to save everyone," he muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. I felt my ears burn and I backed away slowly. Ianto stepped forward with me, "I don't mean - It's just that - this is a team!"

"I'm quite aware of what Torchwood is, thank you," I said, coming off a lot colder than I meant to. Ianto swallowed.

"You don't have to do _everything_ yourself," he said, softer, but still accusatory.

"And _you_ don't have to sit back and watch," I retorted, immediately sorry when his face fell with surprise. I looked across to Martha, but the moment I caught her eye, she looked back down at the mirror in her hands.

"Alli, Jack said to stay up here," Ianto said, suddenly firm.

"Yeah, well Jack _also _said the Glove was safe. Jack also said 'Everything's going to be okay'. ... Jack also said 'I love you'," I added bitterly under my breath.

Ianto hesitated. I thought for one horrifying moment that he'd heard me, but apparently not. "Five minutes," he said. I opened my mouth to argue, but suddenly found that I wanted to step outside the room no more than he did. I took a step forward, a sign of surrender.

However, merely a minute passed before I was itching to get out of there once more. I was just edging towards the door, ready to make a run for it, when Martha gave a shaking gasp and grabbed Ianto's arm. I swear, I jumped out of my skin. Martha lowered the compact mirror that she had been examining herself with, and with a jolt of excitement I realised that the wrinkled, withered skin had vanished, to be replaced with her own, bright, youthful face.

I gave a sort of laugh/gasp and hurried over. Ianto was laughing too, and Martha was grinning gleefully up at us wordlessly.

"Good to have you back," I grinned. Martha all but threw herself out of the bed.

"Oh, it's great to _be_ back," she agreed, laughing at the old cliché.

"Does that mean it's over?" I asked, turning to Ianto, then back to Martha, who shrugged.

"S'pose so..."

"But... what about the others?"

"Jack?" Ianto asked over the comms, "Tosh? Nothing."

We made our way out of the room anxiously, legged it down the stairs (all too agitated to take the lift) and ran out of the front doors to the rest of the team. I reached Jack first, and gave him a furious slap on the arm.

"Why the hell'd you switch off the comms?" I yelled at him, but ended up hugging him in relief instead. "Is everyone okay?" I asked immediately, giving him no time to speak, let alone think.

"Everyone's fine, Alli," said Jack, exasperated, and I pulled away, gave him a smile, and turned to Ianto guiltily.

"Ianto - I'm really sorry," I began sheepishly, "I didn't mean -"

"Me too," interrupted Ianto, and he drew me into a hug. Over his shoulder, I saw Martha observing the scene. At my side, Jack was being hugged by a distracted Toshiko, while Gwen spoke to a young, pale boy to the side of us all. Owen was nodding at Jack, who was pointedly shooting him a concerned glance over Toshiko's shoulder.

Ianto and I broke apart, and I made my way over to her and Ianto hurried across to Jack. Her mouth pulled up into a smile as I clsoed the space between us.

"Weird, isn't it?" I asked, grinning. Martha surveyed the scene once more.

"It's just... you're all so close, and yet you do all these mad things!" Martha said, astounded, "I mean, not to be depressing, but... what if something had happened tonight? What if - Well, I'm not so sure about Owen, but you're all in danger, all the time! It's just... it's mad."

For some reason, I grinned even wider at this. "Yep," I laughed, glancing back at the team. She was right, of course. All of this, there was only one word for it.

Mad.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I have _no_ idea how that happened... O_o I was just writing, and Alli and Ianto ended up like that.  
Chibi!Alli is glaring daggers at me now. Could someone fetch me a very large jar...?

Sorry if it's written crappily, or has loads of mistakes - I have gone through it several times, but I swear I must still have jetlag, so it's apparently 1:30am (which isn't even particularly late, but whatever... that's my excuse).

Oh, and by the way, I'm skipping A Day In The Death. I did quite like the episode, but there's not much for Alli to do in it, and I doubt you want to read it all, so... onwards!


	63. ATMOS Attack

**Disclaimer: Don't own the show, and if I'm not careful, I might just lose custody of this 'fic... I'm not taking very good care of it, am I?**

A/N: Once again, please don't kill me. I've just started college, and everything's a bit hectic, but when it's all calmed down a bit, I'm sure I'll be back to updating more regularly. Sorry to keep you all waiting! As I said, I've skipped over A Day In The Death, and it's now straight on toooo... wait and see. ;D Well, you can probably tell from the chapter title actually. But whatever. =D

* * *

**ATMOS Attack**

"You sure 'bout this, Alli?" Jack asked me for the umpteenth time, as I hurried across the Hub with my backpack hanging off one shoulder. I rolled my eyes.

"_Yes_, Jack," I insisted, "Look, I'll be back before you know it. You'll be fine without me, I'm sure."

"I'm not worried about us," he said pointedly. I gritted my teeth.

"Whether or not you trust me, I do actually have _some_ knowledge of aliens, Harkness. You already agreed to let me go, so don't you dare try taking it back."

"She has a point, Jack," smirked Martha, who I was now stood beside. I grinned triumphantly. "Alli'll be fine, I'll look after her; and it _would_ really help to get someone from Torchwood out there." Jack looked unconvinced.

"I just want to see him again! Is that so much to ask? He hasn't been here for ages."

"He was here two weeks ago!" Jack said incredulously.

"Whatever, we'd better get going, Alli," interrupted Martha hastily, picking her suitcase up off the floor. The team said their goodbyes, and after a quick hug and wave, Martha and I were off again.

It had been several weeks since the hospital incident. Martha had left the Hub the following night, only to return yesterday - UNIT's been running an operation investigating ATMOS, a new air filtration system for cars, and the Doctor's being called in. Martha dropped by the Hub to visit and let me know that he would be in London, so I decided to go back up with her. Torchwood had been steering clear of the whole ATMOS situation - Jack had had an argument with the Prime Minister about having the SUV fitted, and we weren't currently on best terms with them or UNIT. What else is new?

- - - - - - -

"When's he supposed to be here?" I asked Martha, frowning, as we surveyed the car park dispiritedly.

"Well, he said as soon as possible..."

"Which could be the next millenia, for all we know," I concluded cynically. Just as if to prove me wrong, we both jumped as a metallic whirr started up behind us. Autumn leaves blew up around our feet, and we both squinted in the harsh wind as we turned to face the noise. My heart lifted. A tall, blue box materialised in front of us, and out of it, stepped the Doctor.

"Alli Tyler," he smiled - I had automatically run up to him, and he enveloped me in his arms with a sudden grin. I hugged him back, my face stretching into a joyful beam. But the door of the TARDIS was still open, and out came a woman. My grin fell almost immediately, not out of dislike, but surprise.

_How long could it have been since our last meeting_, I mused, _if he's already got himself a new companion?_

I let my arms fall to my sides, still studying the woman, as Martha and the Doctor greeted each other in the background. She looked at me - my first impression was one of guilt. I don't know why; my insides just fell. Something wasn't quite right...

She looked kind enough though. She gave a small smile and walked slowly towards us, her fiery red hair flowing behind her in the breeze.

"Right. I should have known," Martha was saying behind me, "Didn't take you long to replace me." She had seen the woman, but even I could tell she was merely teasing the Doctor. My heart lifted again, and my earlier sense of foreboding vanished.

"Now, don't start a fight," the Doctor cut across her, "Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Alli, this is Donna. Donna, Alli," he introduced us all, gesturing wildly between the three of us. "Please don't fight! I can't bear fighting." I noticed he was looking at me as he said this, and I gave a sheepish smile.

"You wish," Donna smirked, holding out her hand to Martha. "I've heard all about you. He talks about you all the time. Not so much you," she added, turning to look at me with a frown, and holding out her hand to me. I immediately felt the 'spare cog' vibe filter through my mind. I took her hand tentatively, and sent a glare across to the Doctor, who shrugged apologetically.

"I dread to think," said Martha, seemingly oblivious to the death-glares being sent across the space between her and Donna.

"No, no, no," insisted Donna, "He says nice things. Good things. Nice things. Really, good things!"

"Oh, my God, he's told you everything," said Martha, alarmed.

"Didn't take you long to get over it, though. Who's the lucky man?"

"What man? Lucky what?" asked the Doctor suddenly, his eyebrows shooting up as Martha held up her ring finger, on which sat her gleaming engagement ring.

"She's engaged, you prawn," Donna sighed disparagingly. I rolled my eyes despite myself at the Doctor's clueless expression.

"Really? Who to?"

"Tom; that Tom Milligan," answered Martha, "He's in paediatrics, working out in Africa right now. And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places - tell me about it."

Donna chuckled, and I couldn't contain a small smile. "Is he skinny?"

"No, he's sort of... strong," said Martha with a sly grin.

"He -" she pointed to the Doctor, "- is too skinny for words. You give him a hug, you get a paper cut."

Martha chuckled and the Doctor seemed offended. Maybe this Donna character was alright after all?

"Oh, I'd rather you were fighting," muttered the Doctor.

_"Dr Jones, report to base, please," _came a sudden voice through Martha's headset.

"Speaking of which..." Martha said vaguely, switching on her microphone and speaking directly into it, "This is Dr Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat, this is a go." She led the way out of the alley, with me at her side, and the Doctor and Donna followed. A formation of soldiers ran through the road in front of us.

_"_Unified Intelligence Taskforce, raise that barrier now!" yelled a voice, and the Doctor turned around, startled, to see a number of soldiers and vans forcing through a barrier in front of the enormous building ahead.

"Alright Alli?" he asked vaguely, looking directly ahead and he stepped forward to stand in line with me. I laughed bitterly. _Still can't look me in the eye..._

"Oh, just fantastic," I breathed out.

The Doctor became suddenly edgy. "Look, I'm sorry, I should've told -"

"It's fine," I lied. "Doesn't matter."

"Well, since you've met..." the Doctor looked from me to Donna and back again, then ushered Donna forward. "Donna, this is Alli. She's... well, she's -"

"I'm Alli Tyler. The Doctor's daughter," I said loudly and irritably, turning to Donna with my arm outstretched. "Lovely to meet you, Donna." We shook hands again, the shock in her eyes painfully evident.

"Oh!" she said with surprise, casting a glare at the Doctor before nodding interestedly, "Yeah, well, you too, Alli."

I grinned and turned back to where Martha was now walking away, folding my arms moodily as I did so and pointedly avoiding the Doctor's glance.

"All workers lay down your tools and surrender!" yelled the voice again.

"Greyhound Six to Trap One," Martha spoke into the microphone, a few steps in front of us. "B Section, go, go, go! Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta."

"What are you searching for?" asked the Doctor as we all stepped up to where she stood.

"Illegal aliens."

"Wait - what?!" I asked, caught off guard, "I thought you said it was about this ATMOS thing?"

"Yep," answered Martha, pooping the 'p'. "There's aliens involved though. Gotta be. Why else would I have called the Doctor in?" she added with a cheeky smile. "B Section mobilized!" she suddenly yelled into her walkie-talkie. "E Section, F Section, on my command!" And with that, she ran off out of sight.

"Is that what you did to her?" Donna asked the Doctor incredulously, and I whipped around. "Turned her into a soldier?"

The Doctor grimaced, and I stood there, looking between them both, purely speechless. I shook my head, at a loss for words but still attempting to find a way to defend Martha, and turned away from the pair.

- - - - - - -

Many hours, salutes and conversations later, we had finally made a start. UNIT explained to Donna, the Doctor and I the problem: they believed people to be dying because of ATMOS, after 52 unexplainable, simultaneous deaths, all involving cars.

I stayed behind at the ATMOS factory with Martha, performing health checks on the workers, while Donna and the Doctor went to visit the boy genius that invented ATMOS - Luke Rattigan himself.

I couldn't take my mind off Donna though - there was definitely something strange about her... As soon as I saw her, my inside squirmed - and it wasn't just because the Doctor had already found himself a new companion. But what was it? It wasn't as if I was jealous this time, or pissed off at the Doctor - well, I suppose I was kind of pissed off at the Doctor, but that just wasn't it...

"Okay. I need to listen to your heartbeat. Alli - pass us that stethoscope?" Martha said suddenly, interrupting me from my thoughts. I blinked twice blankly, then passed over the stethoscope from the counter in front of me. She breathed on the end lightly, inserted the plugs into her ears, and instructed the worker to lift his shirt.

Evidently, the man's heartbeat was not what she had expected, because she frowned, repositioned the stethoscope, and pulled away cautiously.

"Are you on any medication?"

"I am here to work," replied the worker in a one-tone voice, a strong Polish accent filtering through as he stared straight ahead at Martha.

"How many hours a day _do _you work?" asked Martha in frustration.

"Twenty-four," he replied in the same monotonous tone.

"You work 24 hours a day?" she asked sceptically. I jumped down from the counter I was sat on and went to stand behind Martha. The man, Treppa, had a strange glazed-over look in his eyes. "Down," Martha instructed him, and he lowered his shirt. _"_Mr Treppa, have you had any form of hypnosis?"

"I am here to work," he repeated, but there was an edge of coldness, anger even, in his voice.

"Okay, um..." Martha looked up at me anxiously, "If you could just wait here."

She stood up and whispered softly to me, "Keep an eye on him; page me if he does anything. I'm just going to get Colonel Mace."

"Sure," I smiled, and sat down on her vacated chair in front of Treppa. She left the room in hurry.

I blew a breath of air out through my feet in a bored manner and waved a hand in front of Treppa.

"Hey, Treppa?" I said to him, his unfocused expression suddenly unnerving me, "You alright?"

"I am here to work," he repeated again.

"Riiight," I humoured, before spinning around once on the chair. I glanced around the room absent-mindedly, searching for something to entertain myself with, but when my gaze fixed once again on Treppa, he had not moved. "What's your problem?" I asked him, louder than before. "Tre -"

I cut off suddenly as my stomach gave a lurch. I don't know how or why, but I automatically knew what was wrong.

"Doctor...?" I breathed out inexplicably, clutching my temple with my hands.

The Doctor had left planet Earth.

* * *

A/N: All will be explained.

Ish.

There! I FINALLY updated! Now I'll _actually_ get round to reading yours, braceface_freak! ;D


	64. Hostage

**Disclaimer: I own Doctor Who. Totally.**

A/N: Wait... what-what's this... THING? It looks like... wait, is that... Why yes! I do believe... but it can't be... is that really...?  
SHERBET LEMONS, IT'S AN UPDATE!

Okay, here's the deal. I was going to end this sometime before the Waters Of Mars. Clearly, I failed. There's a little 'explanation'(/excuse) on my (now weirdly empty) profile page about why it's taking me so long to update - I'm really sorry, just please bear with me.

You might need to refresh on what happened in chapter 63... Sorry again... ¬_¬ -meep-

* * *

**Hostage**

It was over in a second. A momentary rushing in my head, a pulse that clearly stated that the Doctor and I were no longer on the same planet, and then... nothing. Well, obviously not _nothing_. Just ordinary, human(ish) thoughts.

_Why is this happening now?!_ I asked myself frantically, keep a close eye on Treppa. _Never, never in my life have I had any of the Doctor's weird 'Time Lord senses'... And now I can suddenly tell... what - whether or not he's on Earth? How far away he is from me? What's different about now? Is this even a normal Time Lord 'sense'?_

"I've gotta find the Doctor." I vocalised my thoughts. Treppa didn't move. I stared him in the eyes. He stared back. I blinked. He stared. I clapped in front of his face. He stared. "Okay, now you're just plain creepy."

I fiddled in my jacket pocket and pulled out my phone - with added Time Lord trickery from the Doctor, of course. Smiling, I dialled 1 and hit 'Call' - the speed dial number for the Doctor. I held the phone to my ear and surveyed the man in front of me. He stared on still, straight ahead, not even blinking. The phone rang on. No answer.

"Bugger," I said to myself, "Idiot must've left it on the TARDIS." I checked my watch in agitation, "Where the Hell's Martha got to, anyway?"

I sat still for about half a minute, then exhaled in frustration and bounced to my feet. "Oh, screw this. Don't wander off!" I yelled back to Treppa as I flounced out of the door.

- - - - - - -

Alas, after several minutes of running around UNIT's base - much like a headless chicken, might I add - there was still no sign of Martha. I tried her mobile, but no answer. I tried the Doctor again, but still no answer from him, either. What is it with people not answering their phones today?!

It was just as I was about to throw my own phone at something - a wall, a bin, a person maybe - out of sheer frustration, that it rung violently in my hand. Startled, I very nearly _did_ send it flying out of a nearby window, but quickly recovered and held the phone to my ear.

"Doctor?" I asked on impulse.

_"No, it's me,"_ came the reply._ "Donna."_

"Oh." I paused, briefly wondering how she had gotten my number. "Where's the Doctor?"

_"He's here -"_ oh, well, that would explain it, _"- just almost got himself killed, mind."_

"What else is new?" I snorted.

_"Tell me about it. Does he ever stop run- -"_ there was a pause, and muffled words in the background,_ "- Okay! I'm telling her already! Anyway, we were trying to get through to Martha, but we couldn't -"_

"Me neither."

_"You've got to find Colonel Mace. The Doctor says something about a 'Code Red', and tell 'im that the aliens are called 'Sontarans'. Is that right?" _she added in a whisper, presumably to the Doctor, as he then took the phone from her.

_"Alli? It's me. Tell Colonel Mace to look in the files: Code Red, Sontarans. They're fighters, but if they get inside the factory, you can't let UNIT fight them - they'll get massacred."_

"Right," I nodded redundantly. "Colonel Mace, Code Red, Sontarans, no fighting. Got it."

_"I'll be back as soon as I can."_

"See ya."

And he hung up the phone. Damn, I should've mentioned the freaky Time Lord sense-y thing.

Ah well, no time now. Colonel Mace.

I marched through the factory, ignoring the rather strange looks I received from the UNIT soldiers, searching for Mace. That was when I ran into Martha. She looked a little odd, but then again, we_were_ in the middle of an alien-related emergency; I probably didn't look my best either. She definitely needed to do something about her hygiene, mind.

"Martha!" I yelped, almost running into her. She was accompanied by two UNIT soldiers. "Listen, we've got to find Mace; there's something we need to tell him, it's about the -"

And that was exactly when Colonel Mace rounded the corner.

"Doctor Jones, found anything yet?" he asked pompously.

"No sir, nothing to report," Martha answered swiftly. I stood, too startled to move, for a moment, then jumped to life, opening my mouth and raising an arm to signal my existence.

"Colo - whoa!" I exclaimed as one of the soldiers grabbed my arm and pulled me out of sight.

"What was that?" I heard the Colonel ask Martha from around the corner. I struggled against the soldier relentlessly, but he had a firm hand clamped over my mouth and held me stiffly against the wall, so that any attempts to move or speak were useless.

"Nothing, sir," Martha answered casually, "Absolutely nothing."

"What?!" I yelled, but it came out as a very quiet "Mmnph!" from behind the soldier's hand.

Martha stepped around the corner to face me with an uncharacteristic sneer, the other soldier just behind her. "Take her down to Skorr," she ordered. In my momentary state of shock, the soldier holding me still pushed me forwards, out of the corridor and towards the stairwell. I glanced back over my shoulder, mumbling madly, still unable to speak for the soldier's hand clamped over my mouth, but when I saw Martha's smug smirk, I knew any attempt would be pointless anyway. I still struggled.

I didn't know who this Skorr guy was, but he was going to have a hell of a lot to answer to when I saw him.

- - - - - - -

The next thing I remembered was waking up - strapped to a long metal panel.

Crap.

As the world blurred back into focus, I looked to my left and my eyes flew open. Lying there beside me, on a similar metal 'bed' contraption, was Martha. "What?!" I exclaimed, relieved to be able to talk again. "Martha? MARTHA!"

I heard light footsteps, and then a short, stumpy, potato-like alien stepped in front of me. He was wearing battle armour, and holding a gun. Double crap.

"What've you done to her?" I asked the alien, struggling helplessly against the straps binding my wrists down, but looking straight at the peculiar creature. "And - who are you, anyway?"

"I am Commander Skorr of the Tenth -"

"Yeah, whatever, a name'll do." I waved away his speech impatiently - or I would have done, if I could move my hands. "What's happened to Martha? And those soldiers?"

"The soldiers have been hypnotised," said Skorr, with a hint of pride in his voice, "As for the female, she is incapacitated."

"Yeah, I can see that," I spat angrily. "But the other one - what's that? A clone? Damn, I knew she smelled weird..."

Skorr gave a twisted laugh, his lips curling into a sneer. "Ah, the female has intelligence," he spoke gently, apparently to himself. He turned to look at a screen behind him with interest (it was then that I realised I had been hooked up to several machines), and seemed surprised by what he saw. "Ahh... but this is wonderful!" He turned back to face me, his twisted smile now even more cruel. His eye twinkle maliciously. "We have no use for another hostage, now that UNIT has been infiltrated, but who better to keep hostage... than the daughter of a _Time Lord_?"

* * *

A/N: I don't know if eyes can twinkly 'maliciously', but hey ho - now they can.  
_(('Hey ho'?))_

SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY again. =( You wanna thank someone for this update? Thank MizMizMe and Broken Solitaire, who reviewed this despite my two month absence, and Martha Smith, who reminded me that I do actually have a story that needs updating. I'm not promising anything, but you might get an update sometime before Christmas...? -meep-


	65. Of Clones And Converters

**Disclaimer: Don't worry guys, if we all put it on our Christmas list, Santa's gotta give it to one of us, right?**

A/N: The chapter titles are getting worse and worse, aren't they? -facepalm- Well, at least you're getting a fridging chapter! ;D

* * *

**Of Clones And Converters**

I was lying that room - basement? - for hours before I got any news of the situation. My wrists were red raw with my struggling against the binds, and there was an overpowering heat that seemed to be being emitted from a large coffin-like tank in the middle of the room. Yeah, I'm definitely not liking the whole 'hostage' idea aliens seem to get whenever they look my way.

After a while (and just as I was deciding I needed to buy myself a watch) I heard footsteps.

"Right!" I said loudly in aggravation. "You - Sontaran, whatever your name is," I yelled as the footsteps approached, remembering the Doctor's call. "The Doctor's got more on his mind than rescuing me, so you might as well just let me go."

"Ohh, Alli, don't underestimate me like that." said a voice, and my hearts leapt to my throat.

I shrieked unwillingly. "Oh my God, Doctor!"

"Oh yes!" he grinned, bounding over to my side with a fake smile, "Never one to leave you hanging, am I? Well... not for long."

I merely glared, then looked to my left. The real Martha Jones was still unconscious on the metal bed. The Doctor was midway through sonicking me free. The other, presumably cloned, Martha stood a few metres away, eyeing me with apprehension.

I was freed, and brought my wrists together, flinching from the bruised and reddened skin. The Doctor had already run over to the real Martha.

"Oh, Martha, I'm so sorry," he said sadly, checking her pulse, "She's still alive."

Martha's clone suddenly reached towards her back pocket. "Doctor!" I cried, jumping off the table towards Martha, but the Doctor held me back. Martha was pointing a gun directly at his head.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" he said casually, glancing back at the clone.

"I dunno, but you're bein' thick," I grunted, still staring with apprehension at the gun.

"Wish you carried a gun now?" the clone asked, smirking.

"Not at all," the Doctor replied.

"I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time." _Nuclear launch? What the hell did I miss?!_

"Doing exactly what I wanted," said the Doctor. "I needed to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent!"

"When did you know?"

"What, about you? Oh, right from the start. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And, frankly, you smell. You might as well have worn a T-shirt saying "clone". Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack." I snorted in agreement, moving over to stand by the real Martha, my hands still pulsing. "You remember him, don't you? Cos you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive."

And with that, the Doctor pulled the wires from the unconscious woman's head. Martha awoke with a scream and the clone fell to the floor, writhing. Her gun clattered on the floor, and the Doctor kicked it away, then hugged the real Martha. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders - probably just to hold herself upright - breathing heavily. I inched towards the fallen clone curiously.

"It's all right," I heard the Doctor whispering to Martha, "It's all right, I'm here, I'm here. I've got you, don't worry, I've got you."

"There was this thing, Doctor!" Martha was exclaiming, "This alien, with this head..." I smirked but held back the laughter, moving closer towards Martha's clone. I reached down and knelt on the floor.

The Doctor's mobile rang.

"Oh, blimey I'm busy," he said in exasperation, "Careful Alli, she works for them!" he added, then said into the phone - "Got it? Good. Take off the covering. All the blue switches inside, flick them up like a fusebox. And that should get the teleport working."

I wasn't concentrating on his voice anymore. Switches, fuses, teleports, none of seemed to matter, when this person was dying in front of me. 'One of them' or not, she was still living. The clone felt desperately up and down the arm on which she was supporting herself. It fell suddenly from under her, and she almost collapsed. I reached out and held her up. She cringed away from my hand.

I heard Martha's voice behind me. "Oh, my God... That's me."

"Get... off!" the Martha-clone spat out, struggling to speak. She panted. I didn't let go of her. The real Martha approached, wearing some old hospital-type gown.

"Don't touch me!" the clone barked at Martha.

"It's not my fault," she said sadly, staying about a metre away, "The Sontarans created you. But... you had all my memories."

"You've got... a brother," the clone said, frowning, clearly struggling to put her thoughts together, "A sister... mother and father."

"If you don't help me, they're gonna die," Martha pleaded, the anguish in her voice unbearable.

"You love them," the clone said simply, sadly.

"Yes. Remember that?"

"The gas! Tell us about the gas!" yelled the Doctor from the corner of the room, where he was fiddling with some wires in the teleportation pod that Commander Skorr had used.

"_He_'s the enemy!" yelled the clone, panting again.

"Then tell me," Martha begged. "It's not just poison, what's it for? Martha, please!"

The clone looked desperately at her double, then to me, then back to Martha. "Caesofine concentrate," she breathed in defeat, her voice growing fainter, "It's one part of Bosteen, two parts... Probic 5."

"Clonefeed!" the Doctor yelled, "It's clonefeed!"

"What's clonefeed?" asked Martha with a frown.

"Food for clones?" I suggested lightly.

"Like amniotic fluid for Sontarans," explained the Doctor, "That's why they're not invading, they're converting the atmosphere! Changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. 'Cause the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give 'em a planet this big, they'll create billions of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison, it's _food_!"

"My heart..." the clone said weakly, "It's getting slower."

"There's nothing we can do," I said sadly.

"In your mind, you've got so many plans," she said to Martha. "There's so much that you wanna do."

"And I will," Martha said unconvincingly, "Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says. 'Cause -"

"'Cause you never know how long you've got," her clone finished. "Martha Jones... All that life."

She breathed one final breath, let her eyes flutter closed, and her body slowly turned limp in my arm. I lay the body carefully on the ground, touched Martha lightly on the shoulder, and moved over to the Doctor.

"_Doctor,_" I heard from the phone on the control panel of the teleport. The Doctor picked up the phone.

_"__Blue switches done,"_ I heard Donna say, then she gasped. "_But they've found me!"_

"What?!" I said, with no idea what was happening.

"Now!" the Doctor yelled, stepping out of the teleport and pointing the sonic screwdriver at the pod. Donna appeared in the middle on the pod, slightly out of breath. She looked around in astonishment, then ran towards the Doctor and hugged him.

"Oh, have I ever told you how much I hate you?" she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Hold on, hold on. Get off me, gotta bring the TARDIS down." He pulled away and aimed the sonic screwdriver at the teleport. Nothing appeared to happen, but the Doctor smiled, apparently satisfied. "Right, now. Martha, you coming?"

"Wait, hold on!" I interrupted, "First things first, what happened to this 'nuclear strike', why was Donna on a spaceship, and what the _hell_ is goin' on?!"

"Martha, keep pressing N to deactivate the Nuclear missiles," the Doctor said in answer. "Donna was reactivating the teleports for us on-board the Sontaran ship, and basically, that whole ATMOS thing was the Sontarans' way of turning Earth into Cloneworld."

I nodded slowly, not exactly sure I knew what as going on, but satisfied with the explanation for now.

"But there's... two of them..." Donna had noticed Martha's clone.

"Yeah, yeah, long story," the Doctor said shortly, stepping into the teleport. Me and Donna stepped in with him, and Martha grabbed her clone's mini-computer and hurried in with us. "Here we go. The old team, back together! Well, the new team."

"We're not going back on that ship!" said Donna, suddenly anxious, as the Doctor began fiddling with the pod controls again.

"No, no, no. No," the Doctor shook his head. "I just needed to get the teleport working, so that we could get to..."

He flicked a switch, and there was a sudden flash of light in front of my eyes. I felt my insides twist inwards and felt a sharp tug at the back of my neck.

The next minute, I was standing in -

"The Rattigan Academy!" _The what?_ "Owned by..."

I yelped as I stumbled out of the teleport pod. A boy - no older than myself - was stood in the large, scarcely furnished room, pointing a gun directly at us. His hand was wavering, I noted. From what the Doctor had taught me over the years, he was no danger to us.

"Don't tell anyone what I did!" he gabbled, a strong American accent filtering through, "It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they -" He was cut off as the Doctor nonchalantly walked up and took his weapon.

"Oh, if I see one more gun..." he said, somewhat angrily, as he thrust the gun to the carpet. He walked off past the boy. I folded my arms and followed, Martha and Donna talking amongst themselves just behind me.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor began to build. This place - The Rattigan Academy - was a little like a laboratory. The boy, apparently Luke Rattigan, was some kind of child genius. The Sontarans had promised him a new planet for himself and a select few, if he introduced ATMOS to the world. One of his inventions was an 'atmospheric converter', which was apparently (and rather luckily) just what the Doctor needed to get rid of the gas in the sky.

He assembled some complex-looking device and ran outside with it. We all followed, sharing anxious glances. The sky was thick with fog - we could barely see the rest of the city anymore.

"That's London," said Donna in wonder, "You can't even see it. My family's in there."

I walked across to stand by Donna and Martha. "The Doctor'll sort it," I said confidently.

"If I can get this on the right setting..." the Doctor was saying to himself as he fiddled with his device.

"Doctor, hold on!" said Martha urgently, "You said the atmosphere would ignite...?" she offered, repeating his earlier explanation of the process to remove the gas.

He looked back at the three of us, with Luke stood a few metres away, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else in the universe. The Doctor didn't say anything for a moment, then gave a tiny smile. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?" He quickly pressed a button on the device down and stumbled backwards. A flame shot into the sky, and after a second, there was a searing hot pain cast over us. I squinted in the sudden light, and raised an arm to shield my face from the heat. The sky was literally on fire - red and orange and alive.

The Doctor chanted by my side. "Please, please, please, please, please, please, please..."

I bit my lip, nervous, but Luke, on my left, laughed loudly.

"He's a genius!" he cried, and I could see why. The flames in the sky were rapidly burning away, leaving a cool blue sky above us.

"Just brilliant!" Martha exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together. I gaped at the Doctor, who was now rushing towards the door with the atmospheric converter in his arms.

"Now we're in trouble!" he yelled, rushing inside. I took one more jubilant look at the bright blue sky, and bounded in after him.

We all followed the Doctor back inside the building, and he headed straight for the teleport, clutching the atmospheric converter in his arms.

"Where're you off to?" I frowned.

"It's over now, right?" asked Luke desperately.

"No way," I snorted, "We've still got the potato-heads to deal with. But what are you -" I froze mid-sentence, realisation dawning. "Wait... you're not gonna -?"

"Right!" said the Doctor loudly, fumbling a little with the device in his hands, "So... Donna, thank you. For everything. Martha, you too. For... oh... so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life..."

"But - you're saying goodbye..." Donna interrupted, confused. I stepped closer to the teleport pod, my mouth still hanging open in shock.

"Sontarans are never defeated," the Doctor reasoned with himself, "They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so..."

"No!" I said, shaking my head wildly, "No, you can't!"

"Alli, I've got to," he forced out, his voice not wavering.

"But... you can't!" I argued dizzily, my mind and mouth working at separate speeds, "You're just... you're just trying to convince yourself that it's - it's the right thing to do! It's not! Doctor, you can't, you just _can't_!"

"You're gonna ignite them," stated Martha after a pause.

"It's the only way," said the Doctor, fiddling subconsciously with the converter.

"But you'll kill yourself," Donna breathed.

"Just... send that thing up, on it's own," Martha suggested, "I don't know... put it on a delay."

"I can't."

"Why not?" asked Donna.

"I've got to give them a choice," said the Doctor avoiding eye contact with any of us.

"No, you don't! Doctor, you -"

"Thank you, Alli," he said quickly as I advanced. "You've been fantastic. You've made... I can't..." he stumbled over his words as I approached faster, his hand hovering over the switch. I had never seen him so ruffled, and it scared me half to death. "I'm sorry."

I lurched forwards - "NO!" - but too late.

His words echoed in my mind as he fizzed into thin air. "I love you."

* * *

A/N: T_T Oops.  
((Another quick thank you to Last-kiss-of-the-summer, who I accidentally left out of the last update. Really, thank you, that PM made my day. :) ))


	66. The Sister Act

**Disclaimer: Today, I discovered that wishbones are a lie. (I don't own The Sister Act either, by the way.)**

A/N: I rewatched The Sister Act a few days ago and thought the title was quite fitting. Enjoy!

* * *

**The Sister Act**

In a second, it felt like the world was over. A pain seared in my throat and my brain seemed to crash against the sides of my skull. The Doctor vanished into nothingness, right before my eyes. I was still running towards the pod, and my arms flew into the wall as he disappeared.

"Wha-?" I mumbled, my throat closing up. I felt bile rise in the back of my throat. _He can't be, he isn't..._ "No."

I lunged forward and grappled at the control panel in the pod, my vision blurring annoyingly, trying in vain to work out the controls. "How do I... what does all this... stuff... _do_?" I let out a growl - the Doctor had done something to the pod, presumably so we couldn't go after him. I kicked it in fury. _How could he do this?!_

Next thing I knew, I was being pushed out of the pod by Luke. "Get - get _off_ me!" I yelled angrily, lashing out at him. He threw me out of the pod and started fiddling with the controls. Martha rushed to my side, and Donna approached cautiously, her eyes watering.

"What are you doing?" Martha asked Luke fiercely, lightly touching my arm to calm me. I shrugged her off and glared at Luke, ready to intervene.

"Something clever," Luke said, standing up and staring straight at us. He pushed a button and flicked the teleportation switch. I involuntarily leapt forward in shock, my hand jumping to mouth. A fizzing sound filled the air, and the Doctor reappeared in the pod. He fell to the floor. I shrieked and ran over to him, hugging him briefly before pulling back in horror. He looked at me in shock, realisation dawning on his features at what Luke had given away for him. Martha let out a laugh, rushed over and hugged one arm, while Donna whacked him lightly on the head, then sunk down on his other side.

"But - but what about..." I faded off, my thoughts on Luke. The Doctor looked up guiltily.

I let out an aggravated groan, half-relief, half-fear for the boy, "You're... you're just -"

"I know," the Doctor replied with exasperation. "I'm sorry, Alli. All of you. Of all the ways to say goodbye..."

There was a moment of silence, a moment of almost-forgiveness.

"What happened to him?" I asked quietly. The Doctor looked up again sadly. He paused before saying tonelessly, "Blasted into nothingness."

I looked down at the ground. Nobody spoke.

- - - - - - -

"I can't believe you've still got that bloody hand," I said disbelievingly as I explored the TARDIS later that day. Donna was lounging on the captain's chair - she gave me a disbelieving look and I shook my head in exasperation. I'd leave that one for the Doctor to explain.

"Right, you dropping me off any time soon, then?" Martha asked from the other side of the control mechanism. I grinned.

The Doctor stepped over to her and sighed in mock exasperation, "Ohh, always so impatient to leave..."

Martha grinned back, "Well, someone needs me now," she said, wiggling her ring at us, "No _time _to be wandering about the unexplored reaches of the universe!"

The Doctor smiled and envelope her in a hug. When they parted, he wandered over to me.

"I'd better be going back too," I answered his unasked question, "Report back to the Captain," I smiled.

He nodded understandingly, "'Course, 'course. Can't leave the boss waiting, can we?"

"Nope." I looked over to Donna, who had been silent for the past few minutes. She gave me an awkward smile and looked at Martha.

"London it is then," the Doctor said softly, walking to the controls. He got no further than a step, however, when the floor lurched and threw us to the ground.

"What?" yelled the Doctor in confusion, as we all grabbed for the nearest rail, lever or person. "What?!"

"Doctor, don't you dare!" screamed Martha in fury, clearly thinking the Doctor was taking us somewhere.

"No, no, no!" protested the Doctor, scrabbling at the controls, "I didn't touch anything! We're in flight, it's not me!"

"Where are we going?" demanded Martha, grabbing at the console. I hoisted myself up and wrapped my arm around the metal frame. Underneath the console, the Doctor's hand-in-a-jar was bubbling away.

"I don't know, it's out of control!" shouted the Doctor.

"Doctor, your hand's fizzing!" I exclaimed, momentarily letting go of the framing and falling to the ground.

"My - what?!" he cried in confusion.

"Doctor, just listen to me!" pleaded Martha, "You take me home, take me home right now!"

"I _can't_!" shouted the Doctor as he whacked two buttons with a mallet, "Controls aren't working!"

"Oh, I can't think why!" I yelled sarcastically, holding on to the TARDIS console for dear life.

"_Your_ hand?" screeched Donna suddenly, launching herself at the console amidst the crashing of the TARDIS. "I thought that was just some freaky alien thing! You telling me it's yours?"

"Well..."

"Yep," I piped up, whacking a stabilising feed as I spoke - one of the few things I had managed to pick up while the Doctor attempted to teach me how to fly the thing.

"It got cut off," offered Martha, yelling over the sound of the TARDIS's crashes, "He grew a new one!"

"You are completely -" she was cut off as a larger bump sent her crashing to the ground, "- Impossible!"

"Not impossible," the Doctor said, looking hurt as he used his foot to alter a dial, "Just... a bit unlikely!"

With a shower of sparks, the TARDIS came to a sudden halt. Martha, Donna and I were thrown back onto the metal grating, while the Doctor was launched backwards into the Captain's seat.

There was a moment of quiet groaning before the three of us leapt up to follow the Doctor - he had already run outside. We were stood in what appeared to be an old tunnel - filled with junk and wire fences, with an unbearable stench of sweat and blood.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" grimaced the Doctor.

"Oh, I love this bit," said Martha excitedly, rubbing her hands together. I couldn't help letting out a small grin as I examined a large, empty wooden crate.

"Thought you wanted to go home," teased Donna.

"I know, but all the same," said Martha, "It's that feeling you get..."

"Like you swallowed a hamster?" offered Donna, and Martha laughed. I looked across at them, bewildered.

"Swallowed a...? What d'you -" I cut myself off and held up my hands in surrender, "You know what? Forget it."

There was suddenly a loud bang, and footsteps could be heard. The Doctor backed up to the three of us, looking around for the source of the noise.

Several soldiers - no older than myself - were approaching from the right.

The boy at the front, covered in scratches and mud, pointed his gun at us, and the others followed his example. "Don't move," he instructed, "Stay where you are! Drop your weapons."

We all raised our arms to show we were unarmed.

"We're not armed!" said the Doctor loudly, turning on the spot, "Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe."

"Look at their hands," cried one of the other soldiers, "They're clean."

"Thanks," I muttered under my breath. Clearly these guys didn't make a habit of regular washing...

"Alright, process them!" yelled the boy in charge, "Him first," he added ,pointed with his gun at the Doctor. Two soldiers grabbed him by the arms and dragged him over to a strange looking machine, ignoring our shouts of protest.

"Oi, oi!" yelled the Doctor, but allowed himself to be pushed along, his hands still in the air, "What's wrong with clean hands?!"

"Let 'im go!" I yelled, to no avail.

"What's going on?" Martha asked the guards, but no one answered.

One of the soldiers directing the Doctor forward grabbed his hand and forced it into the the machine. It clamped down on his arm. I made to lunge forward, but the other soldier held his gun to my face threateningly.

The Doctor yelped in pain and struggled and the machine whirred and clanged. "Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood press-AARGGGH!" he cried suddenly. I cringed, and Donna gasped in shock.

"What're you doing to him?" she demanded.

"Everyone gets processed," the main soldier said simply, his gun still trained on us.

"It's taken a tissue sample..." the Doctor told us in disbelief, as the machine continued to whirr, "Ow ow ow ow ow ow! And extrapolated it! Some kind of accelerator?" The machine unclamped his hand, and he stumbled back, examining it in wonder. The soldiers lowered their weapons, and we ran over to him. He held his hand up into the dim light in the tunnel. A large cut had been made on it. He looked up to a large, blue and grey machine in front of us.

"What is it?" I asked, looking towards the machine then back at him. He looked down at me in alarm.

"Are you alright?" asked Martha in concern, studying his hand.

"Doctor?" I prompted.

I looked back at the big machine in front of us as a grinding noise sounded in the cave. The metal door began to slide open, exuding steam from inside.

"What on earth?" breathed the Doctor, "That's just..."

A tall, thin, attractive blonde teenager - about my age - stepped out of the door, followed by a cloud of smoke.

I gaped, "Well... but where'd she come from?" I asked in disbelief. The girl was looking around at her surroundings curiously.

"Arm yourself!" said the solider in charge, as he handed her a large gun. She took it wordlessly, wielding it as if she'd had it all her life.

"Doctor?" Martha prompted him.

"From me..." breathed the Doctor, in answer to my question. He was staring at the girl in shock.

"_What_?!" I asked in disbelief.

"From you?!" asked Donna, "How? Who is she?"

The Doctor didn't answer for a moment. "Well..." he said, almost reluctantly, "She's... _well_... she's my... daughter." He looked down at me and we shared a look of horror - or perhaps that was just me...?

I turned to see the girl look up at the Doctor and smile. "Hello dad!"

...

I'm going to punch this girl.

* * *

A/N: Sorry, more dialogue-lifting from the episode. It'll be more original soon though, promise.

Oh, and since you probably won't get another update this week, HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!! Unless you don't celebrate it. In which case... HAPPY DECEMBER!!! *^_^* Let's see if I can get a chapter up for a New Year's present, shall we?


	67. Family Values? Yeah, Right

**Disclaimer: Santa failed. I don't believe in him anymore - WAIT I TAKE IT BACK!!! O_O**

A/N: I keep writing 'Jenny' by accident, then realising Alli doesn't know her name yet. =___=

* * *

**Family Values? Yeah, Right.**

Without thinking, I launched myself forwards in fury, but the Doctor raised his hand to my chest - he was stronger than I thought - and held me back. "Alli," he cautioned.

The boy in charge had walked over to this... girl. "Are you primed to take orders, ready to fight?" he asked her.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir," reported the girl, "Generation 5000 soldier primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready."

"Did you say... daughter?" Donna frowned.

"Mmm," the Doctor said vaguely, staring at the girl, "Technically." I snorted disbelievingly.

"Technically _how_?" Martha asked, eyeing me nervously.

"Progenation," explained the Doctor, as the soldiers began to... discuss battle plans, or whatever it is soldiers do. "Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement, and grow. Very quickly, apparently."

"That's gross," I stated shortly.

"That's your sister," Martha joked lightly. I shot her a glare.

"And that's just -"

"Something's coming!" my 'sister' yelled from in front of us. There was sudden gunfire from the tunnel ahead.

"It's the Hath!" yelled the boy, and the soldiers began shooting furiously from behind a weak-looking defence.

"Get down!" the girl yelled at us. We had already moved out the way of the impending bullets.

The boy yelled back to us, "We have to blow the tunnel! Get the detonator!"

"I'm not detonating anything!" the Doctor bellowed back. Everything was suddenly happening too quickly - I couldn't hear myself think over the sound of gunfire in the air. One minute, Martha was at my side as we ran through the tunnel to safety, the next she was gone.

"MARTHA?" I bellowed into the tunnel, to the reply of muffled screams. Through the dust kicked up by the gunfire, I saw that 'girl' (though I had yet to determine whether or not she was truly human) kick an alien - it looked relatively fish-like, with blue-ish, purple-ish skin, large round eyes, scaly skin and a tube of green liquid attached to its face. She leapt to the side and picked up a small metal rectangle with a large red button in the centre.

Yeah. I wonder what _that_ does.

"Blow that thing!" yelled a voice, the commanding boy. The dust settled slightly and I could make out blurred outlines through the tunnel - several of the same aliens as the one the girl had kicked earlier, and a struggling Martha, wriggling madly against her captor. I screamed her name, but I don't suppose she could hear me over the continuing gunfire.

I heard the Doctor's words echo my own from somewhere behind me, "Martha!" Then, speaking to the girl as he jumped to her side - "No! Don't!"

Too late. She jammed her palm down onto the red button, and the Doctor dragged her backwards by her arm. I stumbled back, out of harm's way, as a deafening explosion sounded, bringing down half the tunnel. We stood up gingerly, peering over the rocks we had taken shelter behind, to see that the tunnel had sealed itself off. And we were missing Martha.

"You've sealed off the tunnel," the Doctor said in disbelief, "Why did you do that?!"

"They were trying to kill us!" the girl retorted indignantly.

"But they've got my friend!" he argued.

"Collateral damage," she stated. _WHAT?!_ "At least you've still got those two -" she nodded at Donna and I, and we exchanged offended glances, "- He lost both his men, I'd say you came out ahead."

"Her name's Martha," shouted Donna, approaching the girl, "And she's not collateral damage, not for anyone! Have you got that, GI Jane?!"

"And who d'you think you're talkin' to?" I asked, folding my arms and pushing past her to follow the Doctor as he went to inspect the new wall of rubble, "'Got' us, yeah right," I added under my breath.

"I'm gonna find her," announced the Doctor.

"We're coming too," I answered immediately.

"No way," said a voice from behind us - the boy was pointing his gun at us, "You're going nowhere. You don't make sense, you three. No guns, no marks, no fight in you… I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now, move."

I groaned, "Can't we do this later?"

"Yeah, we've really got to find our friend," agreed the Doctor, though he reluctantly held his hands up to avoid being shot. He nudged my elbow, and I did the same. Donna, beside us, followed suit.

"No. Your friend'll be fine. Now, move."

He turned and walked away down the tunnel the team had come from. The other boys held their guns to our faces suggestively. The Doctor looked back at the wall longingly, then walked after the boy reluctantly. Donna and I followed.

"She'll be all right, won't she?" asked Donna nervously as we walked, "Doctor?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded confidently, but I couldn't help notice he wouldn't look her in the eye, "'Course she will."

"She'll be fine," I added reassuringly. At this, the Doctor cast us both a curious glance. "What?"

"Nothing," he denied quickly.

"_What?_" I pressed in annoyance.

"Well..." he began, then looked away, then looked back at me, frowning, "I was just thinking... y'know, you two're getting on quite well...?"

"What d'you mean?" asked Donna in confusion, as my cheeks began to burn - I thanked the heavens for the dim cave, "Why wouldn't we?"

"This is different," I said quietly, "It's not like last time."

The Doctor turned back to face ahead, nodding in silent understanding. It wasn't the person that mattered (much), it was the circumstances.

"Besides," I said brightly, "I don't think I gave Martha a fair chance. I mean, after a year of travelling the world together - well halfway round - I realised she was all right, really. I'm not gonna waste that time now, especially not when Donna seems so nice."

The smiled softly, "She is. Loud though."

"Well, not right now, she isn't -" I turned to look for Donna, but found an empty space behind me, "- wha-? Donna?"

"I'm here!" she called from ahead of us. She fell back to walk with us, and the girl copied. I cast her a short glare. "We were just saying, she doesn't have a name yet. Wasn't born with one."

"Mmm," the Doctor agreed, eyeing her gun with distaste, "The machine must embed military history and tactics but no name. She's a generated anomaly."

"Generated anomaly? Gen-er-at-ed..." Donna sounded out to herself, "Jenny-rated... Well, what about that? Jenny!"

"Jenny," said the girl slowly, "Yeah, I like that. Jenny." She smiled and flounced off to stand by the boy at the front.

"Don't suppose you'll consider that not-wasting-time technique with 'Jenny', then?" the Doctor asked me pointedly, watching me as I glared after the girl.

I turned my glare on him. "Will you?"

He hesitated, opened his mouth, closed it again, and merely stared after the newly Christened 'Jenny'. "We should give her a chance," he said unconvincingly. I didn't answer or a moment. There was just something about her. Like she was... _wrong_. And I couldn't figure out if it was the fact she was the result of a freak-experiment-type-thing, or the fact that she strongly reminded me of someone else...

It was the hair, I reckon. And her energy, and... well, just her spirit. Everything, a reminder of Rose. I got her hair when I was born, but the rest of me is pretty much the Doctor. Mind, eyes, nose, height. How ironic was it, that this Jenny girl got my mother's traits, without even meeting her once?

"So, what do you think, 'Dad'?" asked Donna, grinning. I felt my fists clench of their own accord - not even _I_ called him 'dad' - Jenny had better not.

"Good as anything, I suppose," he said indifferent.

**"**Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?" teased Donna.

"They stole a tissue sample at gunpoint and processed it, it's not what I call natural parentage," he argued.

True point, there.

* * *

A/N: OMG... original dialogue. O_O Yeah, not a huge fan of this episode, but it's sorta important to the later plot. Review please!

Everyone have a good Christmas? I kinda got over myself a bit (check out my no-longer-teen-angsty profile ;D and plan to update a lot more in the new year. ^_^  
OH, and if you haven't already, please vote on my Torchwood poll! Thanks! =D


	68. Imprisonment Again

**Disclaimer: Everyone watch End Of Time? Yeah... what a load of bull. -sulks- RTD's losing his touch. Still, so sad for the last 30 minutes. And can anyone say 'bondage'? ;D I'd like to own bondage!Doctor... -drools- But I still don't. =(**

A/N: Enjoy, or else chibi!Ianto gets it. Actually screw that, I could never do it to him. -pats chibi!Ianto on the head- =3

* * *

**Imprisonment Again**

The boy in charge, who's name we soon discovered was Cline, took us to a central battle station, to meet an older soldier called General Cobb. The station looked more like church, or theatre, and the window were somehow blocked in by soil. The Doctor introduced us as travellers from 'The Eastern Zone', after being prompted by Cobb, and we were immediately branded as 'Pacifists'. I was glad they didn't do a weapon search, as I could feel my hand gun strapped to the inside of my jacket.

The Doctor did some investigating, and we found out that the humans - although I think everyone was born of the DNA-extrapolating-machines - were at war with 'the Hath'. They had been for generations. Both species were searching for the Source - some magical, mythical thing that 'controlled the destiny of the planet', which was apparently uninhabitable above ground - hence the station was built underground. Whoever found the Source first - a mystical 'Breath of a God' - won the war.

Then, being the typical Doctor, he found some hidden tunnels on their map, and showed them the direct path to the Source - which, presumably, the Hath would be following as well. And following this, of course - because how could we ever have an adventure without it? - General Cobb yelled "Cline, at arms!" and we ended up with guns pointed at our heads, being told we were to be imprisoned. "Take them," he ordered, "I won't have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I'll see that your woman dies first."

"No, we're - we're not a couple," denied the Doctor in confusion, while Donna looked affronted.

"I am not his woman!" she barked angrily.

"Come on," ordered Cline, signalling with his gun, "This way."

"I'm going to stop you, Cobb, you need to know that!" the Doctor yelled back as we were pushed forwards after Cline.

"I have an army and the Breath of God on my side, Doctor, what'll you have?"

"This," he replied simply, tapping his forehead. Bit big-headed, there.

"Lock them up, and guard them," Cobb ordered Cline.

"What about the new soldier?" Cline queried, looking to Jenny. She stepped forward to present herself to Cobb, but he pushed her away, directly into the Doctor's arms. My fists clenched.

"Can't trust her, she's from pacifist stock," Cobb said, "Take them all!"

We were led down another series of tunnels and up a flight of stone stairs until we were at last pushed into a small cell. Donna noticed at once a series of numbers above the prison door, similar to a set she had seen back in the station. "They've gotta mean something," she said to herself, while the Doctor and I took a seat on the hard, cold, concrete wedge.

"Makes as much sense as the breath of life story," replied the Doctor wearily.

"You mean that's not true?" Jenny asked naively. _Well, duh. That's why they're called 'myths and legends'._

"No, it's a myth," Donna told her kindly - I distracted myself by walking across to the cell bars and examining the metal. "Isn't it, Doctor?"

"Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple, something that's become a myth. A piece of technology, a weapon."

"So the Source could be a weapon and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?" asked Donna. I ran my hand up and down the metal - it was coarse... Nothing a spot of Tentriloneum ink couldn't burn through, but I hadn't thought to bring any with me. Funny, that.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor answered.

"Not good, is it?" Donna posed to Jenny with a sigh.

"That's why we need to get out of here, find Martha and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath," the Doctor told us.

I voiced my findings - "We could melt through these with the right liquid. It's not very strong. I'm not surprised; this is hardly the ideal place for forging iron. Probably buckle if we had the right sort of leverage." I looked back the Doctor to see if he had any suggestions, but he was eyeing Jenny with confusion. I looked across at her to see her giving me and the Doctor strangely triumphant glances.

"What, what are you, what are you... staring at?" asked the Doctor.

"You keep insisting you're not a soldier," she answered, drawing nearer, "But look at you! Drawing up strategies, like a proper general. And you!" she looked at me and my eyes widened in alarm, "Planning an escape route!"

"No no, We're trying to _stop _the fighting," the Doctor said clearly.

Jenny shrugged thoughtfully. "Isn't every soldier?"

"Well," said the Doctor, flummoxed. I smirked unintentionally - she had a point, and the Doctor wasn't going to like it. "I suppose. But that's… that's… technically... I haven't got time for this! Alli, give me your phone!"

I pulled out my phone and handed it to the Doctor wordlessly.

"And now you've got a weapon!" I tried to suppress my laughter in an attempt to stay true to my dislike of her, but found it more difficult than I thought it should be.

"It's not a weapon," denied the Doctor as he dialled Martha's number.

"But you're using it to fight back!" Jenny laughed, and I bit my lip to stop from smiling at the Doctor's lost expression, "I'm gonna learn so much from you! You are such a soldier!"

The Doctor looked up in astonishment, and I erupted into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. My hatred seemed to shatter of its own accord, and although I could still easily punch her, I did feel myself unintentionally loving the look of horror on the Doctor's face.

"Donna, will you... tell her?" the Doctor prompted Donna, seeing that I would be of no help.

"Oh, you are speechless, I'm loving this!" exclaimed Donna, grinning with me, "You keep on, Jenny!"

The Doctor ignored her and held my phone to his ear. "Martha!" exclaimed the Doctor after a moment's pause, "You're alive!" _YES!_ "I'm with Donna and Alli; we're fine, what about you?"

"And - and Jenny," added Donna, nodding kindly at Jenny, "She's fine too!"

"Yes all right, and, and Jenny..." the Doctor added reluctantly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jenny take a step backwards, and a felt a stab of guilt. I quickly dismissed it. "That's the woman from the machine, the soldier. My daughter, except she isn't, she's, she's... Anyway! Where are you?"

I turned to Jenny, who was looking rather lost, in the corner of the cell. I looked away guiltily, but Donna caught my eye and nodded her head at Jenny. I turned back to her, let out a breath, held my head high, and walked towards her.

"Hi," I said, and cringed at the stiffness I heard in my own voice. Jenny's expression seemed to brighten instantly. Naive girl.

"Hi... Sorry, but who are you?" she asked innocently. I gritted my teeth.

"I'm the Doctor's daughter," I answered, "His _actual _daughter." I bit my lip as my final words came out before I could stop them.

"You mean... 'actual' as in... not a child of the machines?" she posed. I nodded. She seemed to want to argue, but stopped herself, "Is Donna your mother?"

"What? No!" I blurted out, casting a look back at Donna. "No, my mother's... gone."

"Oh, sorry," said Jenny, though she didn't sound sincere. Then again, why should she?

"Oooh, sorry, that was me," we heard the Doctor saying into the phone. "If both armies are heading that way, there's going to be a bloodbath."

"Great," I muttered under my breath, leaning back against the bars.

"Does this happen a lot?" Jenny asked conversationally.

I snorted, "More than you could imagine."

"Is it dangerous?" She seemed thrilled at the idea.

"Yeah," I answered, disgruntled at her enthusiasm. I suppose part of me was still wishing for her not to want to join the Doctor - since that would eventually have to happen. She'd go off travelling with the Doctor - he'd have to accept her some time - and I'd be carted back off to Torchwood. To paperwork and blood, and aliens in Cardiff, and an impossible relationship.

"Just stay where you are," the Doctor directed Martha, "If you're safe there then don't move, d'you hear?" The phone beeped several times and the Doctor lowered it. "Lost the connection," he said, and threw the phone back to me.

I shoved it into my pocket. "She's not gonna stay put," I told him, "You know she won't. Safe or not."

"Well, she's alive, at least," said Donna cheerfully, "And hey, so are we."

"For now," I added under my breath. The silence that greeted my words informed me of just how loud my voice was. The Doctor had no expression, Donna looked rather worried, and Jenny looked as if she couldn't wait for the impending war. What a team we'd make.

There was a distant cheering from the station, and we all turned to stare out the bars.

"They're getting ready to move out," said the Doctor quietly over the cheers from above, "We have to get past that guard."

"I can deal with him," Jenny offered immediately. I rolled my eyes but felt my lip twitch slightly. She might be annoying as hell, but she sure was eager.

"No no no no," said the Doctor, glaring, "You're not going anywhere."

"What?" asked Jenny, astounded.

My mouth dropped. "_What_?" I echoed. This, I had not expected. He looked to me in confusion. Glancing from Jenny to Donna and back to the Doctor, I swallowed nervously. "I mean... it's not like I'm thrilled to have a 'sister', but... you can't leave her here!"

The Doctor merely looked back to Jenny, "You belong here, with them."

"She belongs with us," Donna said firmly, "With _you_. She's your daughter!"

"Technically..." I added shortly, raising a finger.

"She's a soldier," argued the Doctor, "She came out of that machine!"

"Oh yes, I know that bit!" Donna rolled her eyes, "Listen, have you got that stethoscope?" The Doctor nodded. "Give it to me. Come on!"

Jenny frowned and backed away, "What're you doing?"

"It's all right. Just hold still."

I stepped back and looked at Jenny. For the first time, she looked frightened. I reached out and touched her arm. "We won't hurt you."

The Doctor handed Donna the stethoscope, and she approached Jenny. She cast me an apprehensive glance, and I nodded in reassurance. Why she would trust me, I have no idea, but it seemed to have an effect. She stepped forward, and Donna placed the end of the stethoscope on her chest.

She listened intently, and I held my breath, silent in anticipation. Donna moved the stethoscope to the other side of her chest. Her face was unreadable, and the cheers above had died down - I could hear my hearts beating above the silence. My head was buzzing.

_What if she has two hearts? Does that make her Gallifreyan? Will the Doctor accept her then? Should I?_

Donna looked across to the Doctor. "Come here," she said softly, "Listen. And then tell me where she belongs."

"What does that mean?" I asked, as the Doctor took an anxious step forward. "What is it? Donna?"

The Doctor stepped across to Jenny and took the stethoscope from Donna - she held the end in place, on Jenny's chest. The Doctor placed the plugs in his ears and listened, his eyes focused in deep concentration. His hands gripped the metal of the stethoscope. Donna slid the end to the other side of her chest. My own hearts skipped a beat, and the second seemed to last forever. The Doctor dropped the ends of the stethoscope and stumbled back against the wall.

"Two hearts."

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A/N: Long conversation scene, I know... More action soon, promise. =D


	69. Just A Soldier

**Disclaimer: I own chibis... =D But no real people. =(**

A/N: Lookieeee, long chapter. ^_^ I know things are different this time round because the Doctor has an _actual _daughter, but I wanted to keep this scene in because it's gorgeous and it made me cry. (Murray Gold is a genius for that piece of music, too...) Think of it as a tribute to David Tennant... TT_TT

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**Just A Soldier**

Two hearts... She had two hearts...

A Gallifreyan. We were the same. Same father, same blood (almost)... Same species. She really was my sister.

"Two... she's got..."

"Exactly," Donna answered me.

"What's going on?" asked Jenny, looking worried.

"You've got two hearts," I said, astounded. Part of me wanted to slap her, part of me wanted to hug her, and part of me wanted to break down and cry.

"Does that mean she's a... What do you call a female Time Lord?" mused Donna.

"She's not a Time Lord," I said, shaking my head.

"Alli, she's got two hearts," argued Donna, misunderstanding.

I shook my head again, "No, she's not a _Time Lord_. Neither am I. It's just a title... Never went to the Academy; can't be a Time Lord. I'm... well, that's to say, _we_... are Gallifreyans."

Jenny looked to the Doctor. "But - What's a Time Lord?"

"It's who I am," said the Doctor, avoiding all our eyes, his voice shaking, "It's where I'm from."

There was a silence before Jenny spoke. "And I'm from you?"

"You are an _echo_, that's all," said the Doctor, his mouth twisted in fury. I looked to the ground in sorrow. "A Time Lord is _so _much more. A sum of knowledge. A code. A shared history. A shared _suffering_." He hesitated, looking away still. "Only it's gone now. All of it. Gone forever..."

I felt my eyes water up, and cursed them for doing so. Because he might not have been talking to me, but those words still sure as hell hurt.

"What happened?" Jenny asked sadly.

The Doctor stared somewhere to my left, his face paling. "There was... a war."

"Like this one?" Jenny asked. The Doctor gave a bitter laugh, hollow and cruel.

"Bigger," he said with an empty smile, "Much bigger."

"And you fought?" she asked, "And killed?"

The Doctor looked up, straight into Jenny's eyes. They were dark - darker than I'd seen them in a long time, and full to the brim with unspoken pain. "Yes."

She looked back to me expectantly. "And you?"

"No. Before my time," I answered quietly.

"But... aside from the war...?" she posed.

A memory flashed before my eyes -_ firing a gun down a corridor, chasing after a single man. One shot, and it's all over. Doctor Copley, dead in a second. A moment's hesitation, and so is Owen._ I nodded weakly. I felt the Doctor's eyes on my head, but didn't look up. I saw Jenny turning from me to the Doctor.

"Then how are we different?"

"You're not," Donna said, making up for mine and the Doctor's silence. "Can't you two see it? You're all the same."

I looked up at Jenny - she turned from the Doctor to me - and gave her a small, watery smile. It wasn't sincere, and she knew it, but it was a start. I'd never get used to a sister (especially one who was even less human than me, and practically an adult while less than a day old) but I'd have to try, if only for the Doctor. He couldn't keep rejecting people, he just couldn't. And if I couldn't have him - if he still couldn't bear to look at his past - then perhaps he could have a daughter in the future, at least.

The three of them soon started speaking of an escape plan, and I found myself of little use. That was the trouble with working for Torchwood - you grow to rely on your resources. So now, in this prison cell, with my only useful weapons removed and my technology millions of miles away, I was stuck. There was no way I'd pull out my gun right under the Doctor's nose, unless absolutely necessary.

They gathered in a corner, keeping their voices down so as not to be overheard by the guard, and I swear, I had a vision. As the Doctor laid down plans, and Jenny offered help, and Donna was rendered totally confused, I could see them; two, three years from now, this could be the Doctor's family. They seemed to fit together perfectly. There was still something niggling in the back of my mind whenever I looked at Donna, and for that reason, she seemed to fit right in. And so did Jenny. The three of them...

_No_. I shook my head, casting my musings away. _Stop it, just stop it. __Stop being ridiculous. The Doctor won't replace Rose. Not ever. And he won't replace me either. That's just..._

_Impossible..._

- - - - - - -

Minutes later, due to Jenny's skillful (and rather reckless) techniques, we were out of the prison and using one of the guards' map to navigate our way towards the Source. The Doctor, in charge of the map, stopped us suddenly in the middle of a steamy, rust-red corridor.

"This is it," he told us, walking towards a panel in the wall, "The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel."

He took out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the wall next to the panel. Donna walked over to the side. "It's another one of those numbers," she said, pointing to a sequence of numbers high on the opposite wall, "They're everywhere."

"The original builders must've left them," the Doctor said, "Some old cataloguing system."

"You got a pen? Bit of paper?" she asked, and I fished a small notebook and pencil out of my pocket and handed it to her, and she scribbled down the numbers. "'Cause, d'you see? The numbers are counting down. This one ends in 1-4, the prison cell said 1-6."

"Like... numbered parts?" I suggested, "Like the Doctor said, a catalogue for each part of the base?"

"Always thinking, all of you," said Jenny, almost in awe, "Who are you people?"

"I told you, I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor? That's it?"

"That's all he ever says," added Donna with a smile.

"So, you don't have a name either? Are you an anomaly too?" she asked. I snorted.

"No," he answered in indignation.

"Oh, come off it!" screeched Donna, "You're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met!"

"She's got a point," I agreed.

"Here it is!" the Doctor cut us off, removing the control panel with a flourish.

"And 'Time Lords', what are they _for_, exactly?" asked Jenny.

"'For'?" asked the Doctor, frowning at her as he fiddled with the wires, "They're not... They're not 'for' anything."

"So what do you do?" she posed.

"I... travel," he finished lamely, "Through time and space."

Donna looked across, clearly unimpressed with the Doctor's explanation. "He saves planets, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures," she answered for him, "And runs a lot. Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved."

Jenny gave a laugh and looked to Donna, "So, you all travel together, but you and the Doctor - you're not...?"

Donna laughed, "Oh, no no no, we're not together. No, no. We're friends, that's all. I mean, we're not even the same species, there's probably laws against -" She cast me a sudden look of horror, "- Oh God, I'm sorry - I didn't mean -"

"It's fine," I said instantly, not wanting to argue with her already, then snorted, "You're probably right anyway..."

Donna gave a small smile back, still apprehensive. I turned to Jenny to ease the tension, "But we don't... travel together. I mean, I only met Donna... what, less than a day ago? The Doctor and Donna travel together, but not me. Not anymore."

Jenny frowned, "Oh. But... why not, if he's your father?"

I cast the Doctor weary look. "Well, just... thought it was time I moved out," I said, putting on a cheery voice, "I'm working, on Earth now. It's where Donna's from, where my mother was from. I -"

"Got it!" cried the Doctor triumphantly, sliding the secret door open.

_"Squad 5, with me!"_ we heard from the distance, followed by footsteps in the adjacent corridor.

"Now, what were you saying about running?" the Doctor added with a mad smile, and ushered us through the door.

"What were you saying?" Jenny asked me, as the Doctor slid across and fused the door shut on the other side.

"Well, I work for a... a sort of agency, I suppose," I explained, as we followed the Doctor off down the corridor, "Saving the world from alien threat, that sort of thing."

"Oh," The Doctor had stopped dead a few metres in front of us. A series of red beams were criss-crossing their way along the corridor, with no way around. We caught up and stopped by his side.

"That's not mood lighting, is it?" asked Donna wearily.

The Doctor pulled a toy wind-up mouse out of his pocket and threw it out - it hit one of the beams, fizzed, crackled, and dropped to the floor, blackened and 'dead'.

"No, didn't think so," she finished with a sigh.

"Arming device," explained the Doctor.

"But this is a _secret tunnel_," I said sceptically, as he got to work fiddling with the controls at the side, "We're the first to find it. Not to mention the fact that this is s'posed to lead to somethin' from an ancient myth, from countless generations ago. I seriously doubt laser beams'd still be active after all that time."

The Doctor turned around, frowning, his hands still working on the dials and switches. "Good point... But it's still a problem."

"Look, there's more of these numbers," Donna said, pointing at another panel of numbers on the wall, "Always eight numbers, counting down, the closer we get..."

"Here we go!" the Doctor yelled, flicking random switches on the panel.

"We better be quick!" yelled Donna, as General Cobb's voice echoed along the corridor. How did he get through the door so fast? My hand flew to the gun inside my jacket, but the Doctor cast me a frown of confusion, and I lowered it innocently. _Not until necessary..._

"It's the General!" yelled Jenny, and she turned to run back the way we'd come. The Doctor caught her arm and held her back.

"Where are you going?" he asked her in concern.

"I can hold them up!" exclaimed Jenny, as if pointing out the obvious. She patted her gun.

"No, we don't need any more dead," the Doctor said firmly.

"But it's them or us!"

"It doesn't mean you have to kill them!"

"I'm trying to save your life!" she cried, offended.

The Doctor's face fell, "Listen to me," he pleaded, "The killing: after a while it infects you. And once it does... you're never rid of it."

"We don't have a choice," insisted Jenny.

"We always have a choice."

She hesitated, looked at me once, then shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said, then ran back towards General Cobb.

"Jenny!" the Doctor yelled after her. I ran a few steps after her and made to grab her, hold her back, but too late.

"Wait!" I yelled, and she turned slightly, still backing out, "He's right, y'know! It does." She didn't answer, but turned back to run again. "Jenny!" She retreated, holding the gun up, ready to fight. "Please!" I yelled in desperation, but it was no use. She was gone.

There was silence but for the running footsteps, and then shots - endless shots, echoing throughout the chamber. I flinched.

"I told you," said the Doctor in anguish, turning back to the controls as I ran back to them, "Nothing but a soldier."

"She's trying to help," said Donna softly.

"Jenny!" called the Doctor, flicking a final switch, and the beams switched off, "Come on!"

"I'm coming!" Jenny yelled back, followed by Cobb's faint voice above the bullets -

"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

The shots were silenced instantly.

"Jenny!" bellowed the Doctor, stowing the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket, "Leave it! Let's go!"

He grabbed Donna's hand and led her through the corridor. I stepped back, my eyes still on the end of the corridor. Where was she? There was still no sound of gunfire, but I could just about make out the buzz of distant speech.

"Alli, come on!" the Doctor yelled, then louder - "And you, Jenny! Get a move on!"

I looked at the Doctor, then back to the end of the corridor longingly. _Come on, Jenny,_ I willed, _Make the right choice. Please... You're one of us. Come back..._

Seconds passed, and nothing. I heard more shots and my heart sank. I turned and sprinted through the corridor, my head pulsing, and stood at the Doctor's side, staring urgently into the distance. I grabbed the Doctor's arm, scared on Jenny's behalf.

_Please..._

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A/N: Little flashback from Reset there =D Yay, angst.


	70. An Invitation

**Disclaimer: I could fantasise all day about owning Doctor Who... -sigh- And that should be proof enough that I don't.**

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**An Invitation**

"Jenny!" the Doctor yelled down the corridor desperately as I reached his side, "Come on! That's it!"

"Hurry up!" added Donna. I bit my lip.

Suddenly, Jenny rounded the corner in a blur of blonde. My insides flipped and I grinned - but too soon. The beams switched back on.

"No, no, no, no!" the Doctor said, clutching at his head, "The circuit's looped back!"

"But you disabled it!" I said indignantly, "What kind of disabling's that?"

"Just zap it back again!" Donna yelled frantically. Footsteps approached from behind Jenny.

The Doctor let out a yell of anguish, "I can't, the controls are back there!"

"They're coming!" called Jenny, casting a look behind her in desperation.

"Wait! Just -" the Doctor started frantically, "There isn't...! Jenny, I can't!"

"Then I'll have to manage on my own," Jenny said, throwing her gun on the floor, "Watch and learn, father!" She paused, and I exchanged a nervous glance with Donna. With a flourish of her hands, Jenny jumped into the beams. I flinched, but for what? She flipped and cartwheeled through the lasers with the ease of a gymnast, finishing perfectly, right in front of the Doctor. I stared, wide-eyed and disbelieving.

"No way!! exclaimed Donna to Jenny, "But that was impossible!"

"Not impossible," amended the Doctor, grinning, "Just a bit unlikely!"

He hugged Jenny with a smile, and I laughed with relief by their side. "Anyone ever heard the term 'Mary-Sue'...?" I pondered aloud, half in shock.

"Brilliant!" he told her proudly, "You were brilliant!"

"I didn't kill him!" Jenny said happily, "General Cobb; I could have killed him, but I didn't. You were right! I have a choice."

"Uh - Doctor..." I tapped the Doctor on the arm and signalled to the end of the corridor, where heavy footsteps were fast approaching. "Cobb."

"Go," he said, straightening up and looking ahead to where Cobb and his army had appeared at the other side of the lasers. I hesitated, but Donna took my arm and made to pull me away. I reached for Jenny's hand and pulled her back.

"Don't be long," I warned the Doctor, as Jenny took my hand. The three of us ran around the corner into the joining corridor.

"But is he -"

"He'll be fine," I said shortly, casting Jenny a reassuring glance, "Donna, there's another one've your numbers up here."

Donna wheeled around and jotted the number down in the notebook. Seconds later, we heard Cobb's army open-fire, and milliseconds after that, the Doctor emerged at a run.

I sighed in exasperation, "Could you not, for once, spend a day without bein' shot at?" I asked, but the Doctor merely winked and led us off further into the base.

We walked through the corridors cautiously, keeping aware of any other traps. Every so often, the Doctor would stop to consult the map, or lead us through a secret shortcut. Jenny seemed to want our life-stories.

"So, what's it like, the travelling?" she was asking us now.

"Oh, it's incredible," I said with a smile.

"There's never a dull moment," explained Donna, "Can be terrifying, brilliant and funny - sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds."

"Oh, I'd love to see new worlds," said Jenny with glee.

"You will," smiled Donna, "Won't she, Doctor?"

The Doctor turned to look at Donna, "Hm?"

"D'you think Jenny will see any new worlds?" prompted Donna. I swallowed. Moment of truth.

"I suppose so," he said, smiling slightly.

"You mean... You mean, you'll take me with you?" asked Jenny in surprise. I wasn't sure whether to be happy or mad.

"Well, we can't leave you here, can we?" the Doctor grinned.

Jenny leapt across and hugged him tightly, the sort of way I remember hugging him as a child when I said goodnight. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Come on! Let's get a move on!" She ran off ahead of us, and I caught the Doctor's eye. He looked away and walked ahead. Donna seemed torn between following him and comforting me.

"Careful, there might be traps!" the Doctor was yelling after Jenny.

"I'm -"

"It's fine," I cut across Donna, finding my feet again and following the Doctor, Donna at my side. I didn't want apologies. "Really."

"Yeah, looks like it," she smiled back. I didn't respond. "She's not replacing you, y'know. I mean -" she held up her hands innocently, "- I don't know... exactly what's goin' on, but I'm sure the Doctor would never... well..."

"I know." I looked up to see the Doctor walking slightly ahead, dawdling slightly, perhaps to overhear the conversation.

"D'you think you'll come back? I don't know what Torchwood is, but it sounds a lot less fun than travelling with us," she joked.

I smiled, "Yeah, you're right there... but no. I can't come back." Donna merely nodded, and I could tell she didn't want to intrude. "It's just... hard. You know, with Rose... I dunno. Maybe someday."

Donna smiled encouragingly and looked forward to the Doctor. I took my cue and sped up to him.

"I'm sorry, Alli," he said softly as we walked. Donna hung back.

I snorted, "You always say that."

"I know. But I am. I never meant for... well..."

"You never meant to have a tissue sample stolen and transformed into a child? Nah, didn't think so."

We walked in a short silence, and - not for the first time - I cursed the Doctor's lack of communication. He'd gotten worse since Rose; no surprise there.

"D'you think she'll stay?" I pondered, more curious at his response than the actual answer.

He shrugged, "Don't know. She's free to do what she likes, I suppose."

I laughed shortly, "You never had that attitude with me... Hey, you could teach her all that stuff - how to fly the TARDIS, we never finished that. I reckon she'd be good at it. Better than I was."

The Doctor looked across at me, regretful. He seemed to reason something silently, unsure whether he should say, "You could... come back. Learn with her." I looked up, shocked, and he held my gaze. "I mean it. You're my daughter too."

"But..." I frowned, confused beyond words, "But Rose... I don't -"

"I know what I said before, Alli... but things have changed. I've changed. Thanks to Donna, and Martha. It's been a long time since all that... For me, at least. And, I know, you've got Jack, and Torchwood, and everything else, but... I just wanted to let you know. And even if Jenny changes her mind..."

I stared at him, astounded, and blinked several times. "Oh," I said blankly, "Right. Um, thanks." I looked down at the floor, and remembered something I'd been meaning to mention for a while - why not now? "Listen, there's somethin' I wanted to ask you about. It happened back in the UNIT base, when I was helpin' Martha. I got this... feeling. Like... I dunno what it was, exactly, but... Did you leave Earth?"

The Doctor frowned and answered slowly, "Yeah... Just for a minute though. I was on-board the Sontaran ship."

I swallowed, "I think... I felt it." I paused, gathering my thoughts, "I mean, you've got all your Time Lord senses, right? An' I've never really had any... But I could just tell; I just _felt _it. I _knew _you'd left Earth."

The Doctor nodded slowly, contemplating something, "You must be about 18 now - Earth years, I mean. What with all the Time travel, we've never been too sure, but you'd be about 18, 19."

"Yeah... I mean, I s'pose..."

He frowned to himself, "I suppose it's a sort of... coming of age thing? I don't know, I've never had - I mean, I wouldn't know the technicalities. What with the half-human side of your genetics. Maybe your senses took a little longer to develop, because of that. Maybe... they're developing now."

"Right... So - d'you think I could regenerate now? You said I might not be able to before..."

The Doctor looked alarmed, and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again and swallowed, "Best not put it to the test," he said warningly. I nodded. "Anyway, just... think about what I said earlier."

I nodded once more, and suddenly found myself urging to get away. "I'm just... goin' to talk to Jenny," I said, waving an arm in the distance.

"Sure," the Doctor said, nodding. I sped off down the corridor, with Donna's voice buzzing behind me. I rounded the corner and saw Jenny ahead of me, but didn't catch up with her completely.

My mind was whirling - _what was all that about? Did the Doctor really want me to go back? And if so, should I? Should I really leave Torchwood? Leave Ianto, and Jack, and Toshiko? I'd even probably miss Owen, if I left. Everything was changing so fast! I still had the flat in Cardiff, waiting for me to move in. Would it be awkward? I seemed to be getting along fine with Donna, but what if things changed? I'd barely known her for a day...! And what about Jenny? And... how could I possibly make this decision?_

And another thing: _When the hell did I grow so distant from my father?? When did it get so awkward?_

- I was broken out of my thoughts as Jenny turned around and ran right towards me. I stopped, startled, and she came to a halt at my side.

"I think they've blasted through the beams," she said breathlessly, "The corridors are parallel and I can hear them on the other side." The Doctor and Donna caught up with us. "Time to run again. Love the running! Yeah?"

The Doctor gave a watery grin, "Love the running," he agreed shakily. I don't know what he and Donna had been talking about, but wow, had it affected the Doctor!

Jenny gave a wide grin and flounced off again, and this time, we all followed at a sprint.

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A/N: No cliffie, but a bit of plot-y dialogue there. =D Please review, and I'll try to update soon.  
NOTE: I HAVE NO GRASP OF TIME LORD GENETICS. This story's already waaay AU, so I figured I could just take a guess and make it up. All that part-Time-Lord-part-Human stuff is of my own belief, so please don't take it to be canon. Thanks.

OH, and no, the Doctor is not over Rose. No way. But he's gotta get some closure at some point, otherwise it's just ridiculous. And Alli _is_ his daughter, after all. =D


	71. The Source Appears

**Disclaimer: What's that you say? I don't own it? AVADA KED - wait... Oops, sorry, wrong fandom.**

A/N: Have an update. 'Cause I love you like that. =D

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**The Source Appears**

We ran through the corridors towards the temple, and stopped only when we reached a dead end. Jenny stopped, and the front of our group, and Donna ran into her.

"We're trapped!" exclaimed Donna, pushing herself back upright.

"Can't be," denied the Doctor frowning, "This must be the temple." He felt around on the walls and stopped when he reached a slightly pushed in section. He tapped it twice, "This is a door."

Donna, meanwhile, had found another panel of numbers. "And again!" she said, jotting down the series in the notepad, "We're down to 1-2 now..."

"I've got it!" yelled the Doctor, flipping open a smaller panel by the side of the door. He flashed the sonic screwdriver at it and started pulling wires out, zapping them with the screwdriver furiously.

"I can hear them!" warned Jenny, walking a little back down the corridor we'd come down.

"Nearly done!" the Doctor yelled back.

"These can't be a cataloguing system..." Donna was saying to herself, studying the notebook. I pushed half-heartedly on the 'door', but (unsurprisingly) it didn't move.

"They're getting closer!" Jenny shouted.

"Then get back!" yelled the Doctor, still working madly at the control panel.

"They're too similar. Too familiar..." Donna muttered. Footsteps echoed through the corridor, getting steadily louder and louder.

"Alli, get back," the Doctor yelled across at me, and I stepped back to watch as he continued picking out certain wires. Moments passed, and I could hear the army closing in on us, then - "Got it!" The door quickly slid open and we all ran into the 'temple'.

"They're coming!" Jenny shouted, "Close the door!"

The Doctor whacked some buttons on a keypad next to the door, and it slid shut again, trapping Cobb and his soldiers on the other side.

"Oh, that was close!" sighed Jenny, as we examined the supposed temple we had stumbled into.

"No fun otherwise!" grinned the Doctor, and he bounded off through the place.

"It's not what I'd call a temple..." started Donna. She was putting it mildly - we were running over metal grating, surrounded by parts of machines, wires, glowing poles of electricity and metal bars. Fumes floated in the air from the machinery and I could smell rust and smoke. It was all a little too... futuristic, for a temple.

We came to an abrupt stop - before us was a massive drop, and all across the length of the wall opposite were energy tanks and metal barriers. Jenny stepped forward and looked over the edge, copying the Doctor. "It looks more like..."

"Fusion-drive transport," the Doctor told us, looking around, "It's a spaceship!"

"What, the original one?" asked Donna, "The one the first colonists arrived in?"

"Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time," said the Doctor, "This one's still powered-up and functioning. Come on!" He ran off to the left and up a flight of stars, and we all followed.

"Yeah, but those lasers should've run down by now as well, and they hadn't," I pointed out as we ascended. The staircase led us to another corridor - to our right, another door was being forced open by laser beams.

"It's the Hath!" Jenny yelled to us, "That door's not gonna last much longer."

"Doctor, if Cobb gets through down there, war's gonna break out!" I yelled ahead. The Doctor ran over to a computer and tapped on the keypad.

"Look, look, look, look, look!" he said quickly, pointing to the screen as it lit up, "Ship's log!" He tapped something else and the screen changed to a page of writing. "'First wave of Human/Hath co-colonisation of planet Messaline'." he read out from the top.

"So it _is _the original ship?" asked Jenny.

"No way," I said disbelievingly, "I know fusion energy lasts ages, but how can all this still be active after so long?"

"What happened?" asked Donna, indicating the log.

The Doctor turned his attention back to the screen, "'Phase one. Construction'. They used robot drones to build the city."

"But does it mention the war?" asked Donna. The Doctor scrolled down the page, still reading, "Final entry... 'Mission commander _dead_. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions.' That must be it! A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other! Start using the progenation machines and suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war!"

"Two armies - who are now both outside," pointed out Jenny, as Donna walked over to a digital display on the wall in red computerised lettering - it was a series of numbers, just like the ones she had been keeping track of throughout the ship.

"Look at that," she pointed out, and Jenny and the Doctor looked over to the wall.

"It's like the numbers in the tunnels," said the Doctor, intrigued.

"No, no, no, but listen," Donna said quickly, waving my pen at him, "I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers! It's staring us in the face!"

"What is?" asked Jenny, frowning.

"It's the _date_!" Donna exclaimed, "Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space-date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America!"

Realisation hit the Doctor in the face, "Ohhh! It's the New Byzantine Calendar!" Come to think of it, is there anything he _doesn't_ know?

"The codes were completion dates for each section," explained Donna, "They finish it, they stamp the date on! So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going _out_; from here, day by day, as the city got built."

"Woah..." I said, wide-eyed. How'd she figure that out?!

"Yes!" cried the Doctor, "Oh, good work, Donna!"

"Yeah! But you're still not getting it," said Donna, "The first number I saw back there was 6012-07-17. Well, look at the date today!"

"07-24," read the Doctor, "No!"

"What does it mean?" asked Jenny.

"Seven days," said the Doctor blankly.

"Seven days what?" I asked, feeling stupid.

"That's it! Seven days!" confirmed Donna, not actually answering the question.

"Just seven days?!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"What d'you mean, seven days?" asked Jenny.

"Will everyone _stop_ saying 'seven days'?!" I yelled, infuriated and fully aware of the sound of lasers coming from the door, "Doctor, what does it _mean_?"

"Seven days since war broke out!" he said, mouth agape.

"This war started seven days ago!" added Donna, "Just a week! A week!"

And suddenly, everything made sense. "An' that's why the laser beams were still functioning; that's why the rocket's still got power!" I voiced.

"But they said years!" argued Jenny.

"No. They said _generations_," amended Donna, "And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines..."

"They could have 20 generations in a day!" finished the Doctor, "Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend! Ohhh! Donna, you're a genius!"

"Yeah, look, that's brilliant an' all, but we still haven't found the Source, and we've still got two armies headin' right for us!" I pointed out.

"Good point," said the Doctor looking around the area in a rush.

"But - all the buildings, the encampments, they're in ruins!" insisted Jenny, clearly confused.

"But they're not ruined, they're just empty!" explained the Doctor, "Waiting to be populated! Oh, they've mythologised their entire history! The Source must be part of that too! Come on!"

He led us off past a series of pipes and round a corner, where we ran into none other than -

"Martha!" exclaimed the Doctor, and the shivering Martha Jones ran towards us, sighing with relief.

"Doctor!" she cried, as the Doctor enveloped her in a hug.

"I should've known you wouldn't stay away from the excitement!"

"Yeah, you should've, since I _told _you she wouldn't." I grumbled, hugging Martha briefly when she wondered over, "An' how come he doesn't care when _you_ don't do what he tells you to?"

Martha laughed and hugged Donna as we parted. "Beats me."

"Oooh, you're filthy, what happened?!" asked Donna as she and Martha stepped back.

"I, erm, took the surface route," said Martha, examining her muddy clothes with a grimace.

"Um - Doctor...?" I prompted, as multiple voices began to filter through the ship towards us. It was Cobb - they'd obviously broken through the door.

"That's the general!" said the Doctor, "We haven't got much time."

"We don't even know what we're looking for!" Donna countered.

"Is it me, or can you smell flowers?" asked Martha abruptly, sniffing the air.

The Doctor breathed in deeply and frowned, "Yes! Bougainvillea! I say we follow our nose!" he said, taking us through the corridor and up a staircase into -

The jungle.

... Wait, what?!

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the Doctor, making his way through the forest of exotic plants, "Yes! Isn't this brilliant?"

We followed him into the room - the soft glow of energy poles could be seen through leaves and petals, but the place was otherwise beautiful, filled to bursting with flowers and greenery of all colours and sizes. In the centre of the room stood a small pedestal, on top of which was a large glass sphere. I edged closer; it was beautiful - a cloud of golden swirls, trapped inside the orb.

"Is that the Source?" asked Donna.

"It's beautiful," said Jenny in wonder.

"What is it?" asked Martha. The footsteps of the soldiers grew louder, and I'd bet by now the Hath had broken through the door. This would _not_ be good.

"Terraforming!" said the Doctor, examining it, "It's a... third generation terraforming device!"

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" asked Donna. I glanced around myself, paranoid about being caught unaware, but kept my arms pinned to my sides so as to ensure the Doctor wasn't let on to the fact I had a gun.

"Because that's what it does," explained the Doctor, "All this, only bigger - much bigger. It's in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally..."

"Doctor!" I warned as the footsteps approached alarmingly faster - before I knew it, we were surrounded. The Hath appeared to our right and my eyes widened in alarm - I hadn't caught a good look at them in the tunnel, and they were tall, fish-like beings in jumpsuits, with scaly purple and orange skin, and bubbling liquid tubes attached to their mouths... bizarre. Then again, I'd seen weirder. Cobb's army had emerged to our right as well - we were trapped in the middle with the Source. Each army had cocked their guns upon seeing the others - or upon seeing us, perhaps.

Well... here we are again. Caught in the middle of a war.

Let the bloodbath begin...

* * *

A/N: Seemed like a good place to cut - the chapter was going on forever. Hope you liked!


	72. Releasing The Source

**Disclaimer: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, n -dies-**

A/N: Oooh, lookie here, I've found something to do in my THREE HOUR BREAK at college on Mondays. ¬___¬  
Scary times lie ahead... Not this chapter though. For now, just have some sad ones... =(  
((You have no idea how long it took me to decide on an ending to this episode. So... many... choices... =____=))

* * *

**Releasing The Source**

Each army came to an abrupt halt, about 10 metres from the five of us.

"Stop!" yelled the Doctor, throwing out his arms to keep each army at bay, "Hold your fire!" I cringed, but to my astonishment, no one fired.

"What is this?" Cobb shouted, not lowering his gun, "Some kind of trap?"

"You said you wanted this war over," the Doctor replied, looking frantically to each army.

"I want this war _won_," amended Cobb.

"You _can't_ win. No one can!" the Doctor added quickly, before Cobb could interrupt, "You don't even know why you're here! Your whole history, it's just Chinese Whispers. Getting more distorted, the more it's passed on." He hesitated, casting apprehensive glances towards the soldiers and Hath, then indicated the Terraforming sphere, "_This _is the Source. This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical; It's from a laboratory, not some _creator_. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of... stuff, for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you!" He twirled in a small circle, waving his hands around at the plants around us, "It's not for killing. It's for _bringing _life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight! No more fighting. No more killing."

He lurched suddenly towards the sphere, and lifted it high into the air. The soldiers and Hath trained their guns on him, but - thank God - no one fired.

"I'm the Doctor!" he yelled, holding the sphere above his head - Donna, Jenny, Martha and I took a step back, "And I declare: this war is over!" He threw the sphere viciously to the ground and I flinched as it shattered into a thousand pieces. The gases trapped inside drifted upwards in a swirl of colour, and spread out into the air. Smokedrifts of green and gold dissolved up into the air - even the armies seemed entranced.

I looked across at Cobb's soldiers and caught Cline's eye. He leant down slowly and lay his gun on the ground. Startled, I looked across at the Hath, who were all lowering their weapons. Cobb's soldiers were placing their guns on the ground as well, staring in awe at the gases from the sphere - after a moment, only Cobb remained armed. I kept an eye trained on him as I watched the mystical gases escaping into the ship.

"What's happening?" whispered Jenny, stepping towards the Doctor.

"The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process," he explained with a smile.

"What does that mean?"

"It means a new world," the Doctor grinned. Jenny laughed back joyfully but caught my eye and stopped abruptly - I had pulled out my gun.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the smartest idea. But what else was I to do? I _saw_ General Cobb raise his gun, I _saw_ him take aim at the Doctor, and I _saw_ the malevolence in his eyes as he went to pull the trigger. So, of course, I got there first. I didn't shoot - there was no reason to when Cobb was hesitating, and as a soldier, he would expect to be shot by me if he fired - and with my gun aimed directly at his head, there was no chance of him doing so. Or so I thought, but with a flash of fire and the bang of gunshot, it happened.

"NO!" said Jenny, lurching in front of the Doctor. He wasn't quick enough to stop her, and next thing I knew, she let out a gasp, and reached for her stomach.

I choked on my own breath as my eyes shot wide open, and my hands began to shake. I turned back to face Cobb. Fury raged through my skin, and I clenched the gun firmly, but before my finger could pull back the trigger -

"No!" The Doctor was there, quicker than a flash of light, and the gun was thrown out of my hands and fell, with a clatter, to the floor. I swallowed guiltily as he cast me one glare and turned to Jenny. All my rage turned to terror of what I'd see if I looked. His eyes seemed to say everything he never would - confusion, rage, sorrow, and (perhaps most frightening of all,) fear. From the corner of my eye, I saw the soldiers apprehending Cobb, but my attention was no longer on him. Jenny had stepped in front of the bullet...

She lay before me, motionless on the floor. The Doctor had rushed around to sit behind her - everything was suddenly moving so fast, I couldn't keep my bearings, and found myself somehow falling and sitting on the metal grating beside them.

The Doctor held Jenny across his knees, cradling her like the child she never was. "Jenny?" he asked frantically, but she didn't respond, "Jenny! Talk to me, Jenny!" She stirred and blinked several times, then opened her eyes fully, staring right into the Doctor's. They were filled with unshed tears. I felt my own eyes prickle as I watch the pair.

_But... No! She can't die! She just _can't_..._

Suddenly, Martha and Donna were at our side. Martha leant across and rested two fingers on Jenny's neck. She lifted Jenny's hand off her stomach to inspect the wound, and drew back hastily.

"Is she gonna be all right?" whispered Donna. I looked around. Martha shook her head and swallowed. My hands jumped to my mouth and I turned back to Jenny. My vision blurred.

_NO! No no no no no, this can't be happening! This isn't FAIR!_

"A new world," whispered Jenny with a weak smile. I blinked rapidly and wiped at my eyes furiously, but they never seemed to clear, "It's beautiful."

"Jenny? Be strong, now," said the Doctor, his voice shaking and his lip trembling, "You need to hold on. D'you hear me? We've got things to do, you and me. Hey? Hey? We can go anywhere. Everywhere. You choose."

Jenny nodded unsteadily, "Sounds good."

"And - And Donna, and Alli, and you and me," the Doctor stumbled over the words, "New adventures, and new planets... Brand new times."

Jenny nodded, but her face was paling. Her breathing was slowing, the brightness fading from her eyes.

"You're my daughter," he said, looking briefly up to me. I lay a hand on her arm and inched closer, biting my lip to keep from crying, "And we've only just got started. You're gonna be great. You're gonna be more than great. You're gonna be amazing! You hear me? Jenny?"

Jenny's eyes fluttered closed for a second. I felt my grip on her arm tighten, but she gave one last breath and stopped - completely still.

"Jenny?" I whispered. A tear landed on my hand, and I looked down, surprised. I hadn't realised I was already crying. I released my grip on her arm and brushed my fingers through her hair softly, just as if I could bring her back with a touch, "Jenny?" I repeated, more firmly this time. She couldn't die... I leaned back from her and pulled one hand away, leaving my left hand to grasp at her still-warm fingers, biting down harder on my trembling lips.

_This is ridiculous!_ I told myself, as the rusty taste of blood ran across my tongue. _I've only known her a few hours! I didn't even _like_ her to start with!_

"Two hearts," someone said suddenly. The Doctor. He was looking up to Martha and Donna desperately, "Two hearts, she's like me. If we wait... If we just wait...?"

"There's no sign, Doctor," Martha said sadly, "There's no regeneration. She's like you, but... maybe not enough."

The Doctor looked back down at Jenny, "No. Too much. That's the truth of it. She was too much like me." He lay her down on the ground and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. I watched in silence, my hand over my mouth, as she lay there, so still. I was brought back to my senses when the Doctor stood abruptly and headed over to Cobb. He grabbed a gun from the floor - whether mine or one of the soldiers, I couldn't tell - and I yelped as he cocked the gun and aimed it at the General's forehead.

"Doctor!" I exclaimed - whether loudly or quietly, I couldn't tell. The Doctor breathed heavily through his teeth as he stood over Cobb, his furious panting filling the uneasy silence with fear. The soldiers restraining the General were all too taken aback to move. Several painful seconds passed, and no one uttered a word - we all watched the Doctor in horror as he held the gun to Cobb's head. But then, he lowered himself to Cobb's level, and looked him in the eye, the gun falling to his side.

"I never would," he spat firmly through his teeth, "Have you got that? _I never would_!" He stood up, anger pulsing through his body almost visibly, and looked from each army to the other. "When you start this new world," he yelled madly, "This world of Human and Hath... remember that! Make the foundation of this society - A man who never would!"

He gave the gun a look of pure disdain and hatred, and threw it aside into the bushes. He didn't look me in the eye as he sat back down behind Jenny, brushing the back of his scarred hand across her forehead lightly. I sat in silence on her other side, still clutching at her lifeless hand.

She was gone. _But... Then, why does it feel...?_

"No."

I was barely aware that I was still conscious, but the various glances sent my way told me I had spoken aloud. I looked around nervously and finally looked back to Jenny, my gaze captured by her cold eyes. "No, we have to wait," I said, my voice trembling, "I-If we just... If we just _wait_, then... then she'll... y'know..."

"No," the Doctor said lightly. He let out a breath and rose to his feet, his eyes older somehow. I blinked to clear my vision and shook my head. "I'm sorry Alli... She's gone."

"Doctor, we just have to -"

"She's gone." His voice was soft, but somehow empty. He walked around Jenny, towards Martha and Donna.

I stood, suddenly frustrated, and turned to face him. All of my emotions - my exhaustion, my anger, my panic and my sorrow - all seemed to bear down on me at once. I was _sure_ of this. "Doctor, I'm telling you -"

"No, Alli. She's _gone_," he repeated quietly, "It's all over. Over again."

"Just _listen_ to me!" I shouted frantically, tugging on his sleeve to stop him walking away. I was painfully aware of my coming across as a child-having-a-tantrum, and just not caring, "Listen to me - I _know_ she'll come back, just trust me! I can feel her, she's still here, I can tell! I can feel it, in here!" I jabbed a finger to my head, moving closer to the Doctor, "I swear, Doctor!"

His expression turned stony, a mixture of sadness and anger. "Stop it," he said shortly, his chin trembling, "Just _stop_ it, Alli." My heart fell, and he turned his back on us. "We're leaving."

Fury burst through my veins and I clenched my fists. I blew a stream of air out through my lips angrily and threw myself violently onto the floor beside my sister. "I'm staying."

The Doctor turned, his eyes surprised but his lips still sad. "Alli -"

"I'm not leaving her. I don't - I - ...I'm not leaving her."

- - - - - - -

And so it came to be, a painful two and half hours after Jenny died, she did the impossible.

She came back to life.

* * *

A/N: -whistles innocently- What's that? 'Canon'? Psshhhh, doesn't sound important. -throws it out of the window-

Now, what we're you saying about free dragons? 8D


	73. The Traditional Torchwood Touch

**Disclaimer: Fanfiction stole my chapter. I don't own that anymore either. =(**

A/N: So... I finish the chapter, save it, close the page, go to the hairdressers, then... half and hour later I come back to upload it AND IT'S GONE. Jeeeez... =___= So my apologies for the wait.

Okaaay, according to your reviews, I was a little too vague with the ending of chapter 72. The Doctor (and Donna) didn't leave Alli there, they waited _with _her. =( Sorry guys!! That'll be my terrible writing to fault then. =S

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**The Traditional Torchwood Touch**

After numerous hours of discussing technicalities and impossibilities and various Jenny-related issues, we were at last ready to leave. She hadn't regenerated, it seemed - or at least not fully. Her appearance was the same: she had the same long blonde hair, the same bright blue eyes, the same athletic build. She was the same person, completely. One hundred percent healthy, one hundred percent Gallifreyan. It was all a mystery to us; if the Doctor had any idea how it happened, he didn't let on to the rest of us.

The terraforming began to work just as we were leaving. I don't know what happened to Cobb, or whether the humans and Hath remained at peace, but Messaline became a whole new planet. All because of us, because of the Doctor.

But that, then, left me an even harder decision. It all came back to me, that feeling of bliss you get when you find peace in a never-ending war. Did I really want to leave the Doctor again? Leave Jenny, and the TARDIS?

But then... did I really want to leave Torchwood?

- - - - - - -

"So, why did the TARDIS bring us here, anyway?" Martha asked frowning, as she paced around the ship's console. Donna was sat by my side in the Captain Chair, and Jenny was stood on my other side, her head leant casually on my shoulder. The Doctor was stood, smiling away, in front of the console screen, tapping buttons and twirling dials. It was the weirdest sensation... almost as if it had never been different. Like this was just the end of another adventure, and Jenny had been here all along.

...Or maybe I just hadn't slept for a whole day.

"Jenny," answered the Doctor, looking over at the two of us and grinning, "Jenny brought the TARDIS here. It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Bingo: one great big endless Paradox." He looked across to Martha and smiled lightly, "Time to go home?"

"Yeah," Martha nodded, "Time to go home. I've got someone waiting for me now!" she added with a grin, waving her engagement ring in front of her face.

We set course for Martha's new house, in London, 2009. Time to go home - but where was mine?

- - - - - - -

"I'm gonna miss you," I said as I hugged Martha goodbye outside her house. The Doctor, Jenny and Donna were stood outside the TARDIS, just down the road, having already said their goodbyes.

"Me too," she answered, pulling back, "I'll come visit, soon."

I snorted, "Yeah, like you haven't got enough to be gettin' on with," I raised my eyebrows as I stepped backwards to the TARDIS. She just laughed, unable to deny, and took a step towards her front gate. "I'd better be invited!" I shouted, grinning and nodding my head towards her hand.

"What, with the rest of Torchwood?" she yelled back, laughing, "Only when I want the ceremony in ruins!"

I laughed back, unable to deny, and gave a wave as she fished her keys out of her pocket, "See ya!" I yelled across, and she shouted back a goodbye before entering the house.

I turned and walked back towards the TARDIS. The Doctor, Donna and Jenny were stood at the door. Jenny grinned as she caught my eye, and the Doctor gave me a small smile.

"So," he said, as Jenny and Donna walked inside the blue box, "Vortex? Or Cardiff?" I hesitated, still unsure. "Your choice."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I still hadn't decided.

"Alli... you never would have done it... Would you?" the Doctor asked slowly, his eyes narrowed in confusion, "Shot General Cobb?"

I looked up immediately, caught off guard. "I..." I grasped at thin air for an answer I did not know. The Doctor looked down, and I felt his disappointment. I stared at him, the memory of the incident coming back to me, "Would _you_?" I said, narrowing my eyes. The Doctor looked up at me, surprised, with an empty smile. "I think... I'm goin' back to Torchwood." He opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself and nodded.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. I had made my decision. Life with the Doctor... It just wasn't the same anymore. And besides, Torchwood was waiting for me.

Time to go home.

- - - - - - -

We arrived back at Torchwood the following day - or rather, once I'd had a night's sleep. It was strange, being back in my room in the TARDIS. I ended up not sleeping much anyway; Jenny and I spent most of the 'night' up talking. She wanted to know everything - all our adventures, all our journeys. She had persuaded me to take her to visit Torchwood - Captain Jack had managed to enchant her without even meeting her. He sounded "exotic", in Jenny's very own naive words.

I was hesitant to enter the Hub, with Jenny at my side. The Doctor and Donna had tagged along as well - the Doctor wanting to say hello to Jack, I suppose, and Donna not wanting to be left alone.

Ianto, who we met first, at the tourist office entrance to the Hub, greeted us with a yawn (typical - the Doctor had landed us at 7:20am), followed quickly by a long stare of confusion. As Donna filed in last, he finally spoke.

"Who's this?" he asked, only slightly groggily, pointing to my entourage with his mug of coffee.

"Nice to see you, too!" I answered, cocking my head to the side with a grin.

"Oh, right, yeah! Welcome back," he added, giving me a brief hug as I walked towards him. "Gwen's gonna kill you, by the way. Now, who's this?"

"Gwen? What's her problem?" I asked, nudging the button behind the desk that trigged the 'secret door'.

Ianto was still eyeing the rest of the TARDIS crew. "Y'know, the wedding?" he hinted, "Marriage? Churches, confetti? Ring any bells? No pun intended..."

My stomach churned. Oh crap. "No, no, no, no! Please, no!! ...I missed it?"

"Yep," said Ianto, popping the 'p' cheerily, as if I _wasn't _about to be murdered.

"But... but -" I turned to the Doctor, who was now just behind me as I stood at the now open door/wall leading into the Hub. "You! You _idiot_!" I whacked his arm, and he held up his hands in defence.

"Hey, you never told me about any wedding!"

"I never expected you to bring me back this late!" I countered, groaning. "Ohhh, she's gonna kill me."

"Yep," repeated Ianto, stood in front of the tunnel, "Now, who's this?"

"Oh! Ianto, this is Jenny, Donna and the Doctor," I introduced, pointing to each of them in turn, "Everyone, this is Ianto, Ianto Jones."

"The Doctor?" repeated Ianto, "As in... _The_ Doctor?"

"Yeah, as in _The _Doctor," I answered mockingly.

Ianto held out his hand, and the Doctor shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

I rolled my eyes. "So, we goin' through? I wanna say hi to Jack an' Tosh before Gwen kills me."

Ianto laughed, "Don't worry, she's not in yet. But we've got some great stories from the wedding."

"Can't wait," I deadpanned, my mind whizzing through all the possible Torchwood-related crisises that could have occurred. He started off through the tunnel. I followed him through, with Jenny on my tail and the Doctor and Donna just behind her.

We reached the cog-wheel door in no time, and found the Torchwood team (minus Gwen) on the other side. Ianto and I started through, with the Doctor just behind us, but Jenny and Donna hung back a little, gazing up around the Hub in wonder.

Jack was pacing around his office (one of his less destructive pastimes) up the staircase, while Toshiko worked furiously her computer station and Owen hurried around his desk, stuffing various devices into a black shoulder bag. I grinned at the familiarity. Toshiko looked across at me as the door rolled closed and grinned, casting short apprehensive glances to Jenny, Donna and the Doctor as she did so. I rushed over and hugged her in greeting.

"You all right?" I smiled as we parted, and she grinned back.

"You missed the wedding!" she said in response.

"Yeah, so I've heard," I grimaced, "How was it?"

"Oh, you know... wedding-like. With the traditional Torchwood touch of course."

"Guns, aliens and retcon?" I ventured, and she laughed and nodded.

"You got it." She started to pack her tracking devices into her laptop case, "So, how've you been?"

"Oh... good. Y'know... staying out of trouble. You lot off somewhere?"

"Yep, we've got signs of four non-human lifeforms in a warehouse just outside of Cardiff. Since we've had a quiet couple of days with the Rift, I thought we'd all go check it out."

"Yeah, 'cause who doesn't want more work, eh?" Owen aked dryly, edging over to the workstation, "All right, Alli?" he added.

I grinned and bounded over, and he punched my arm softly. Apparently the undead aren't huge hug-givers. "You still dead, then?" I asked cheekily.

"You still annoying, then?" he retorted, sarcastic as ever. (I hoped.) "What's with the entourage, anyway? You decided Torchwood wasn't nearly enough well-known yet?"

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically, moving over to the others. I was about to introduce them, when -

"What, I don't get a hello?"

Jack had made his way down the staircase and was stood a few metres behind Toshiko. I grinned and ran up to him, and he chuckled to himself before pulling me into a hug. He looked the same as ever, I noted. Of course. We parted, and I gave him a soft smile that he didn't quite return, before bounding back over to the Doctor, Jenny, Donna and Ianto.

"Everyone, this is the Doctor," I began, indicating to my father, who immediately bounded towards Jack, and the two shared a big-manly-man-hug.

Tosh started. "That's not the Doctor!" she exclaimed as the two men parted. I looked to her in confusion. "No, no, no, the Doctor was much older than him. Not nearly as much hair, either. And much bigger ears."

"Oi!" said the Doctor, clearly offended for his previous form - whom Toshiko had apparently met. "No, that was me too. Long story. But - how do you know what I looked like?"

Toshiko looked nothing short of terrified. "Space pig," she said faintly, and after a moment, it seemed to click inside the Doctor's mind.

"Oh, 'course! You were that scientist! Yeah, space pig, I remember."

"_Anyway_," I cut in, glaring pointedly at the Doctor, "This is Donna -" I indicated to Donna, who gave a small wave, "- And this is Jenny. My sister," I added, grinning in anticipation of the reactions.

Jack - who had previously been eyeing Donna rather suspiciously - looked to me in what can only be described as surprise, alarm and confusion, all in one. Owen frowned and opened his mouth to talk, but didn't say anything. Toshiko looked simultaneously confused and slightly offended, and Ianto merely looked surprised.

"_Sister?_" repeated Jack, stepping forward and casting his eyes over Jenny (I immediately felt rather protective of her), "Since when?"

"Since... long story," I trailed off, realising it would probably take the rest of the day to explain.

"But you never said you had a sister!" added Toshiko indignantly.

"I didn't!" I answered innocently, "I just... do now."

"Christ, Alli, how long were you lot gone for?" muttered Owen. I held back my grin and looked to Ianto, who merely shrugged in amusement.

"Hadn't we better get going?" he prompted, and the four of them sprung into action.

"Yeah, love to stay and chat, but we've got some work to do," said Jack apologetically.

The Doctor nodded in understanding, "Yeah, we'd better be off too, anyway. Get back to the universe. Just thought we'd pop in and say hello." I felt my smile drop at the thought of the three of them leaving.

"You coming, Alli?" asked Tosh, as she walked past me with the others.

I looked to the Doctor, who smiled encouragingly. "Yeah... Right behind you." I indicated to the Doctor that we should leave, and the three of them turned and followed Tosh, Jack and Owen. I beamed at Ianto and walked with him through the cog-door.

"Nice to have you back," he grinned, resting an arm causally on my shoulder as we walked. I let out a laugh of joy. Despite it all, I had to admit... I was home.

* * *

A/N: Yaaay! Happy times! For now... -evil laugh-


	74. Back To Torchwood

**Disclaimer: FANFIC' STOLE MY CHAPTER AGAIN! =__= Or... I just forgot to save it. TT_TT Either way, this is why we don't write chapters at 3am. Oh yeah, and I don't own this.**

A/N: Warning: a teeeny bit of 'gory' description and some swearing.

* * *

**Back To Torchwood**

Jack, Toshiko, Ianto, Owen and I headed out to the warehouse moments after saying goodbye to the Doctor, Jenny and Donna. It felt alarmingly easy to fall back into the Torchwood pace, but as soon as I bid them farewell (and the Doctor promised to visit in a week), everything seemed to settle back to before. We drove off in the SUV, with Toshiko tracking the non-humans (which were so far stationary), and me directing Jack towards the warehouse (apparently we don't trust SatNavs since the ATMOS incident). Gwen had still not made an appearance - not that I was complaining - and Ianto was trying to get hold of her.

We soon reached the warehouse and filed out of the SUV.

"Gwen, we've texted you the location," Ianto was saying into his phone, to Gwen's answerphone, "We're querying four or five signs of life, definitely non-human. Get here as soon as you can."

"So, sure they're not Weevils?" asked Owen a we walked, pretty super-hero-like, towards the massive warehouse.

"Don't think so, different energy patterns. I can't make sense of it," Toshiko answered, reading off her tracking device, "It's not a species we've encountered before."

"Well, let's hope they're friendly then," he said sarcastically, winking at Toshiko. I felt my lips turn upwards into a smirk. _So there **was** something going on there now, after all..._

"Ok," said Jack, stepping ahead, turning to face us, and clapping his hands together, "Owen, Ianto, take the other side of the building, check the upper floor. Toshiko, with Alli, check the lower level to the front. I'm gonna check out the back."

I nodded over the agreements of the rest of the team, and we all headed off in different directions. "Comms on at all times!" Jack yelled back to us, before jogging off to the back entrance. I grinned across at Toshiko, and we went off at a run towards the main warehouse entrance.

Inside the warehouse was absolutely nothing, save a few crumbling pillars. The tracker was still detecting five lifeforms, so we headed towards the one closest to us.

"I'm getting mirror readings on both floors," reported Toshiko into her earpiece, "One creature at either end of the building."

We wandered around for a little, but when the device showed us as not 20 metres from the nearest alien, we still couldn't see it. Jack had instructed us to take out our guns, so we pointed them out ahead of ourselves as we looked cautiously around pillars and walls.

"Y'know, these creatures are very quiet," came Jack's voice over the comms.

"Maybe they're sleeping," Owen replied.

"Or hatching," chimed in Ianto, rather morbidly.

Toshiko moved around a pillar near us and pointed her gun down at the floor, "Or maybe they aren't creatures at all..." she said quietly.

I flew around the other side of the pillar, my gun pointed out in anticipation, and felt my stomach lurch. There before us was a small metal box, on which red numbers were counting rapidly down from 5. ... Ohmygod.

"Just explosive devices," Jack's voice said. 4... Apparently he had found one too. Wait, _'just _explosive devices'?! 3...

"Snap," said Owen. _Ohmygod Ohmygod Ohmygod! What do we do?! _2...

... Oh frick.

1...

- - - - - - -

I screamed.

Over and over again, in my mind, just screaming. My insides alive, burning in pain; my stomach pounding; my arms numb and shoulders aching as if boulders forced them down; my legs crushed to oblivion.

"Alli? Alli, you awake?"

I struggled to open my eyes, my mind still racing and whirling. Gwen was stood above me, spinning, apparently. I mumbled in my confusion, just to check my mouth was still there.

"What's that, darlin'? Alli, can you hear me?"

_Well, yes, obviously I can fucking hear you, I'm looking right at you..._

"Alli, you've got to stay still, all right?"

_Where else am I gonna go?_

The area blurred into focus around me. I could see Gwen before me, scrabbling at something just out of view. In the background I could see the remains of the building - most of the pillars had collapsed and the floor of the second level had caved in around me. I was half-buried underneath the rubble of the destroyed ceiling, slumped to the left against a pile of rubble. My head was pounding so hard that I could only assume I had just been 'dug up'. I could just about move my left arm, though as soon as I had raised it before my eyes, I yelped and dropped it again. Stinging blood dripped down over it, staining the rubble red...

I next awoke to see Gwen in front of me again, still just out of view. I tilted my head to the left so as to look down at her, but immediately pulled it back up and cursed loudly. My neck twinged painfully and my spine seemed reluctant to move it. I swore again, my throat painfully hoarse. My left arm was tingling back to life, though I chose not to look at it this time.

I could just about feel my right leg, which Gwen was currently unearthing; and my left leg, although bruised, seemed fairly undamaged. I could move it, at least. My right arm seemed to have avoided most of the debris, though it felt bruised to oblivion, and I was trying (and failing) to ignore the hellish burning sensation creeping up my crushed left arm. Just at the edge of my sight, I could see a small amount of blood pooling just about my breast. I felt faint once again, and panic hit. Was I going to die? _NO! No, no, I can't die! Please... I can't..._

"Jack..." I rasped at Gwen suddenly, "I need Jack..."

"Okay, Alli, just hold still for me," Gwen said vaguely, heaving stones off my lower body.

"No, _now_," I insisted, feeling the room begin to spin. I felt a sudden urge to speak - I didn't want to die with Gwen hating me! "'M sorry, for missin' your weddin'..." I mumbled, obviously rather incoherently, since she looked at me blankly for a few seconds before replying.

"Alli, forget it," she said, shaking her head, "Not much of a weddin' in the end, anyway."

I closed my eyes to clear my head, but found myself feeling just drowsier. I forced them open, determined to stay awake. My hearts pounded in my chest. _I don't want to die... Oh God, what if I really can't regenerate? NO! This can't be happening!_

"_ALLI_?" a voice yelled in the distance - Jack. Gwen yelled back to him, and I heard his footsteps slapping across the concrete floor. My heart leapt with relief.

"Oh God, Jack, help me," I whispered breathlessly as he knelt down at my side and began pulling the heavier rocks off my legs, "Jack, please - Jack, don't let me die, Jack."

Jack looked up into my watering eyes and cupped my chin softly, "Alli, just stay with us. You're gonna be fine," he said reassuringly, and I nodded - well, as much of a nod as I could manage - and held my breath in to stop from crying. Jack pulled his hand gently away and went back to digging me out. My eyes prickled at the pain coursing through my body, but I focused my thoughts on my surroundings so as not to feel faint again.

Right. There was... debris. And rubble. I could smell... dust. And Gwen was still here, hurrying to lift the rocks from my legs. And Jack was at my side, trying to pull me up straighter. I mentally cursed myself when a sudden pressure was lifted just above my abdomen and I whimpered with relief. _Get a grip._ _Back to Jack._ He was right there, just in front of me, lifting the last of the rocks off my legs.

"Can you stand?" he asked softly, and I attempted to push myself up. My left arm pulsed as soon as I put pressure on it and I yelped. I tried to use my right leg to lever myself up, but my left arm seemed to sabotage all attempt. I shook my head lightly, letting out a cry as I did so - apparently I could no longer look left. "Okay, okay, just grab onto my neck."

I did so, and Jack lifted me out of the pile of debris. I clenched my eyes shut and bit down hard on my lip, to distract myself from the pain. A rusty taste ran across my tongue, and when I opened my eyes again, Gwen was already out of the warehouse. Jack pulled my arm around his neck, and we walked steadily out of the building - with Jack doing most of the walking and myself doing more leaning and wincing than anything else.

Once we were out, we could see Ianto and Toshiko stood by the - well, stood where we had parked the SUV. The car itself was no longer there. Toshiko was clutching at her right arm and seemed to be crumpled against Ianto's side. Ianto appeared to be relatively unharmed. Gwen was running to join them. Footsteps behind Jack and I told me that Owen was approaching, but - then why could I hear two sets? I would have turned to look if I wasn't so focused on remaining upright and conscious.

"You okay?" Jack called back to Owen.

"You all right?" he asked in reply, passing us with - was that Gwen's husband? - and heading towards Toshiko, "Tosh, what happened?"

"Broken arm, bruised ribs, about an inch away from being crushed by a girder," she reported. I couldn't help but feel slightly elated for the look of concern on Owen's face.

"You were lucky," Owen told her, before walking to meet Jack and I, "How's Alli?" he asked Jack, practically ignoring me completely.

"Right here, thanks," I said loudly, and he looked down at me in alarm.

"I'm thinking fractured arm, serious bruising to the spine," Jack answered for me.

"Jack, who's done this?" Gwen asked suddenly, just as I was about to protest.

"And where's the SUV?" added Ianto, looking around the deserted area.

Just as Jack opened his mouth to speak, his wriststrap began to beep. He pulled his arm out from around my middle and flicked it on. And guess who it was? None other than that bloody 'Captain' John Hart.

"Oh, no," I heard Ianto mutter as the faint blue hologram flickered into life.

"Jack, what does he want?" asked Gwen with a sigh.

"Oh, deja vu!" the hologram said loudly, "Or did I say that already? Hey, team. Though there might be a few less of you by now. Don't know if you liked my little gift. 'Course, _you _can't die. And with all that life, all that time, you can't spare any for _me_. Oh! Say hi to the family." The hologram of John pressed a button on his own wriststrap and I swear, my blood froze in my veins.

_Family? But that could only mean...!_ My mouth dropped as a second hologram appeared within the first.

"No... it can't be," Jack breathed. There, in front of us, stood a ghostly figure from Jack's past, and by default, also from my own.

"Been a while since you've seen your brother, eh, Jack?" grinned John.

... Oh fuck.

"Gray?" asked Jack in disbelief.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen," stated John, "Everything you love, everything you treasure, will die. I'm going to tear your world apart, Captain Jack Harkness, piece by piece. Starting now. Maybe _now _you'll wanna spend some time with me." The mini-hologram of Gray disappeared, shortly followed by John.

The air seemed to whisper words of fear to us in the absence of our speech. I looked up at Jack, my eyes wide with shock and horror. After a moment, he looked down at me. He didn't speak, only stared. Our eyes connected, and I suddenly knew that whatever was coming... It was going to be one hell of a ride.

* * *

A/N: You're not going to believe the hassle this chapter gave me. TT_TT I wrote about 3,000 words, tried to split the chapter in half, and something (Lord knows what) happened to the second half. I was in tears, since that was the first piece of writing I had felt really proud of in ages. Then I had to write it all out again and I couldn't remember any of the awesome bits... T_T  
Sometimes, my computer just wants me to die. I can sense it.

Lulz, Alli's such a drama queen. =P

=___= Ughhhhh... This chapter sucks now that I had to rewrite it. But I don't wanna obsess. ONWARDS! =D


	75. Captain Misery Loves His Company

**Disclaimer: I own a mind, a computer, and a lot of free time. But still not the actual thing. =(**

A/N: ... O_O HOLY SHIIIIII - I mean... SHERBET LEMONS!!!  
Really, everyone, I love you so much. =3 Thank you for all the lovely reviews. They have been snowballing like HELL recently, and I noticed we're almost at 500! If we reach 500 by chapter 76, I will love you all forever. Even if they're flames. =D

Say hi to Exit Wounds!! -waves- Mmhmmm, I luff John. =3

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**Captain Misery Loves His Company**

The hologram disappeared before our eyes, leaving us to stare out at where the SUV was supposed to be.

"Jack... that was -"

"I know," Jack cut me off, casting me an evasive glance.

"Bastard John's taken our SUV," Owen said.

Ianto consulted Toshiko's tracking computer, "Looks like he's driven it back to Torchwood."

Toshiko, leaning on Owen for support, fiddled with her own alien detection device. "I'm getting readings of rift activity all over the city," she reported, "Major rift flares at St Helen's Hospital, the Police Headquarters and the Central IT Server Station."

A phone started to ring loudly - Gwen pulled hers out of her pocket and answered it, "Hey, Andy?"

"Alli, can you stand?" Jack asked me. I put some more weight on my legs, and they held. I nodded. Jack pulled out from under me - I stumbled back and leaned on Ianto's shoulder - and went to inspect Toshiko's readings.

"Okay, I'm on my way, all right?" Gwen answered into the phone, and hung up. She turned to Jack, "This is him, isn't it? This Captain John, or whatever he likes to call himself."

"Rhys, drop Owen at the hospital," Jack said, ignoring Gwen, "Tosh, Ianto cover the central server building. Gwen, the police station. Then take me to Torchwood." And... what about me?

"You think we're all gonna fit in here?" Rhys asked, with a strong Welsh accent, indicating his car - dear God, it was tiny.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to," Jack said shortly.

"Uh, I think you're forgetting someone...?" I started pointedly, as I walked - or more appropriately, limped - with the rest of them over to Rhys's car.

Jack looked at me for a moment, and turned to Rhys, "Rhys, take Alli back to your place."

"What?!" I screeched, stopping dead. _He cannot be serious!_

After casting brief glances at me, the team filed into the car, save Jack. He walked towards me, slowly, almost apologetically.

"Alli," he said quietly, "You met John once. Back on the Boeshane Peninsula. You know what he's capable of." I swallowed. He took my right hand and clasped it in his own, "He said he was gonna tear my world apart. Do you know what that means?" I didn't answer, just stared up at him fearfully. He lowered his voice to a whisper, "Alli, if he's gonna tear my world apart... he's gonna start with you. I can't have you in that danger. _Please._"

"But... the others - Ianto - What about them?" I ventured, shaking my head (and flinching as I remembered I couldn't do that right now). He hesitated. "You still think I'm not your responsibility. But I'm Torchwood now! I can't just sit back and watch."

Jack went to protest, but seemed to think against it, "You can go to the hospital with Owen. And while you're there, you can get checked in. And you can stay in that hospital until you've recovered. You can listen in on the comms, but no interfering."

I felt indignity and anger rage through me, "_Interfering?!_"

"Alli, you stay out of this. It's personal, and dangerous, and I don't want you involved. John doesn't know who you are, but when he realises - when he knows that you're Nat, that you left us, because of the invasion, that you _escaped_, when so many of us died... Alli, I need you safe. You're Torchwood now; you do what I say. Please."

I couldn't think of an argument, and quite frankly, I was too exhausted to try, "Fine," I said weakly, limping over to the car. I stopped still when I reached the open back door. Jack squeezed into the front alongside Gwen (I felt a slight twinge of jealousy), with Rhys at the wheel. Already in the back were Ianto, Owen and Toshiko. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"Jack, These are traps," Toshiko said pointedly as I squeezed into the car, practically sitting on her lap. Rhys started the engine and we crawled off.

"So be careful," Jack warned, "You know what he's capable of."

"What about you?" asked Gwen.

"I'm gonna go reason with him," he answered, determined.

"He just tried to kill us!" said Owen in disbelief.

"I was the only one who could ever control him," explained Jack, "That's why the Time Agency partnered us."

"Did you just say Time Agency?" Rhys asked, "Don't tell me that's based in Cardiff too?!"

"Why's he doing this, Jack?" asked Owen, ignoring Rhys. "What - Ianto, move your foot, mate - What does he want?"

"Move your own foot," I heard Ianto mutter back to Owen.

"That's what I'm going to go ask," said Jack loudly, over the squabble that was breaking out between Ianto and Owen.

And I thought _I_ was the childish one.

- - - - - - -

On Jack's instruction, Owen checked me into the hospital and headed down to the basement to check on some alien which had appeared there. The rest of the team were off attending to the other areas where Rift activity had spiked. I had no sooner been settled in my ward and had my left arm bandaged up, when -

"Attention, Torchwood employees!" John contacted us through the intercoms, "Evening all! Now, stop what you're doing."

"Jack, what's going on, are you okay?" Gwen's voice asked. I clenched my teeth shut, remembering Jack's orders not to interfere.

"Jack can't come to the comms right now," John answered, "But if you leave a message, I'll be sure and pass it along."

"What've you done to him?"

"No, no, wrong question," John said, "You should be asking 'What am I _about _to do to _you_?'"

"Put Jack on, right now!" demanded Ianto.

"Eye Candy!" said John - I could just see his smirk in my head, "That was so masterful, so bossy, so... basically powerless. Get up to the roofs of your buildings. Quickly now, spit spot!"

I didn't even hesitate. I ripped out the drip that the nurse had so recently inserted to my arm, and legged it out the door - well, limped through the door.

"Why?" asked Owen over the comms, as a random nurse from behind me yelled out in alarm, noticing the empty bed.

"'Cause if you don't, you'll miss all the fun," deadpanned John. I whacked my fist on the elevator button, not chancing the stairs. I tapped my fingers frustratedly on the wall as the lift descended to my level. I jumped in as it arrived and repeatedly pushed the button to take me to the top floor, shrugging at the nurse as she rounded the corner and caught a glimpse of me in the elevator. "Hold on a minute, do I mean fun, or do I mean carnage? I get them confused. Are you running yet? No dawdling now!"

Fucking nutter.

There was a long, unnerving silence, and then, suddenly, the lift reached the top floor. I rushed out and started up the short flight of stairs leading out to the roof, wincing and crying out each time my left leg hit the floor.

"I'm sorry," John's voice said suddenly. I was halfway up the stairs - just a little more, and I'd be outside... "Now...Cardiff! Isn't it pretty? Doesn't it twinkle so? Take a good look."

I reached the door and thrust it open. Owen looked back in alarm and rushed over to help me across, sparing me one short disapproving glance. There was another woman there, her eyes wide in alarm. "Remember this..." John was saying, as Owen ran over to the edge of the roof, looking around himself anxiously at Cardiff below, "Because it all goes so quick."

We stood, watching, waiting. A moment of painful nothingness, then -

BOOM. The sky exploded. Fire shot up from the ground, to our left, then our right, straight ahead. All over Cardiff, explosions lit up the night air. A building went up in smoke just yards away from the hospital; I recoiled as a wave of heat was thrust towards us.

"Fuck..." I breathed, my right hand leaping to the top of my head. My mind went blank, filled only with the images before us. More buildings were exploding every second, hiding the city in fire. The air was filled with red. This was real... This wasn't Torchwood anymore, this was real life, terrible catastrophe. I couldn't think straight, my mind racing. _Where's Jack?_

"Oh, God..." breathed Gwen over the comms, the first to find her voice, "Oh, God..."

The explosions ended, to be replaced with screams. I grabbed my neck hard in agitation, my nails almost breaking the skin, just to check I was really here, watching this, hearing this, _feeling_ this. Sirens wailed across the city, alarms sounding over the devastation. _Oh my God... Oh my... How the fuck do we **fix **something like this?_

"Jack? _Jack_?" Gwen was yelling over the intercoms, "Jack, can you hear me? Are you there? _Jack!_"

"I'm detecting tracking a huge rift flare over at the castle," Toshiko said, her voice shaky, "It's been generated by the rift manipulator at Torchwood."

"Tosh, Ianto, Owen, Alli - Are you, uh, are you okay?" Gwen asked nervously.

"Yeah, we're fine," Toshiko answered.

"Still here," Ianto said.

"Us too," confirmed Owen, shooting me a determined glance.

"Good, okay, good," Gwen said in response. Owen looked across at me and turned his back on the city. I tore my eyes away to see him walking towards the door, and followed his through. "Tosh, do we have the scale of the damage on the city?"

"Fifteen major explosions, at strategic points across the city," Toshiko answered, "There's currently a surge in traffic trying to leave the city, but the explosions have cut off all major routes in and out. Landlines, mobile phones and IT networks all down, TV and radio off air. He's completely crippled us Gwen."

"Shit," whispered Gwen. Owen and I - along with the woman who had been with him on the roof - were making our way down through the corridors.

"Not wanting to be the harbinger of doom," Ianto said, "But the systems which serve the Turnmill nuclear plant have all gone off-line."

"Right," Gwen said determinedly, "Tosh, Ianto, you have to stabilise the nuclear power station. Make that a priority. Owen, what's it like at the hospital?"

We walked into the nearest ward - one of the children's wards. It was catastrophe. The place had all lost power - we were in darkness, and all the support machines were dead. Nurses were rushing around helplessly, comforting the crying children.

"Lost all power," Owen said as we walked out from the commotion, "The backup generators gave out in the blast. Every single machine in this hospital is down. It's a disaster."

"Okay, all of you, listen to me," Gwen said firmly, and Owen and I stopped dead in the corridor, tuning out the sounds of yells and screams in the rooms, "We're gonna fix this. We're gonna put this city back together, we're gonna find Jack, and we're gonna punish John. Now, I need you to be careful. Okay?" I nodded, well aware she wouldn't see. I bid away my thoughts of '_Who put her in charge, anyway?'._ Now wasn't the time.

It was time to save the world. Again.

So, while Gwen rallied the police to help the civilians, Owen and I were rushing around the hospital, trying to put right everything John had destroyed. Well, I say rushing - I was more hobbling.

"What are these things, again?" I asked, as I pushed the cart of packages through the hospital behind Owen.

"Manual life support packets," he explained, grabbing a box of packets and thrusting them into a passing nurse's hand, who hurried off at once. "Don't use electricity, so they'll work as an alternative until we get the power back on."

"Right. And how's that goin'?" I added, speaking through the comms to Toshiko and Ianto, who were based at the Central Server building.

"We're gonna have to get down to Turnmill," Ianto said wearily, "There's no way to restart the servers from here."

"But... You're at the _Central Sever building_," I said blankly. "An' you can't go to the nuclear station; what if it doesn't work? You'll get radiation poisoning!"

"It's the only way, Alli," said Toshiko. I groaned in frustration.

"I'm gonna punch that man," I muttered.

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A/N: Well, did you really expect her to stay put? =P

If we get up to 500 reviews by next chapter, everyone - yes EVERYONE (lurkers and passer-bys included ;D) - gets a clone!chibi!Ianto, clone!chibi!Alli, clone!chibi!Jack and a lil' piece of homemade love. And a cookie.

**_WARNING: SELF-PLUGGING AHEAD: _**_Oh, and while I'm being a complete review whore, do any of you have dA? I need more peoples to dWATCH over there... And of course, this is a shameless self-promotion, so if you ever get bored, feel free to check out my page, full of complete crap and fangasmy goodness. ;D ((Link on my PP ^___^))_


	76. Meltdown

**Disclaimer: So, I was walking down the road one day and BAM! now I don't own Doctor Who.**

**-WE REACHED 500 REVIEWS!-  
I just wanted to say thank you to all my reviewers - you all mean the world to me. *^__^*  
****And thank you as well to all my non-reviewing subscribers, lurkers and passer-bys. This story really would be nothing without all of you.  
As promised: -gives you all a clone!chibi!Ianto, ********clone!chibi!Jack, ********clone!chibi!Alli, lil' piece of homemade love, and a cookie-  
((Erm... Watch out for that clone!chibi!Alli... it bites. O_o))**

A/N: A little swearing again. On the subject of which - I have been wondering whether this story should be bumped up to an M rating? I thought that would be a little extreme, but it does involve a lot of violence and coarse language... =S

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**Meltdown**

Not long after Ianto and Toshiko had formed their ridiculous plan, Tosh recorded Rift activity back in the Hub. Gwen headed back there to find out what was going on.

And not long after that, there came an oh-so-fucking-familiar voice over the intercom.

"Toshiko. I need you to run a trace for an etheric particle signal NME transmitting at 200 betacycles," John said loudly. Owen and I exchanged alarmed expressions.

"Gwen, where are you?" asked Toshiko in panic, "What's he doing? Where's Jack?"

"Trace that signal, we'll find him," ordered John.

"It's okay, Tosh," said Gwen, "I've got him covered. Just do as he says."

There was a pause, and Owen and I headed back off through the corridor, "No signals even vaguely resembling that."

"Uh, no, There must be," said John uncertainly, "That transmitter was guaranteed for five millennia through three ecological permalayers - it has to still be transmitting. If not, we'll never find him. He'll be buried... forever."

_"Buried?!"_ I exclaimed, ignoring Owen's frantic shushing motions.

"Who's that?" asked John over the comms, still patched into the network. I slapped my hand over my mouth. Shit. But I was saved from explaining when a loud, wailing alarm sounded - not in the hospital, thank God - over the comms.

"What the hell is that?" Gwen was yelling over the top of it. Owen and I were back to rushing through the hospital wards with the life support packets.

"Oh, there's weevils loose in the lower corridors," Gwen said fearfully, "Oh, my God, what's going on, how did they get out?"

"It's Gray," answered John, "He must be here in the city. He said he was gonna take Jack's life, destroy it from the inside out. A weevil wake-up call could be just the beginning."

_Weevils? That alarm wakes up Weevils? Oh God..._

And just then -

"Owen, Gwen, Alli, can you hear me?" Ianto asked over the comms, "The streets are flooded with weevils. They came out of nowhere. There's no chance we'll get to the nuclear power station in time."

"Ianto, leave it to me," Owen said, throwing a package to a nurse, "I can get there."

"How?" asked Ianto.

"King of the Weevils, remember?"

"Wait, Owen, what d'you want me to do?" I asked in a rush, as he headed towards the door.

He looked back, hesitated, then smiled humourlessly, "Stay put."

He walked out of the corridor, heading towards the lift down to the lobby, leaving me stood with the cart in the middle of the hallway. My right arm dropped to my side - my left still hung in a sling.

Great. Stuck again with an order to stay out of trouble. I grinned and pushed the cart across to a nurse.

Yeah... like that was gonna happen.

- - - - - - -

I calculated about a 5 minute bus ride from the hospital back to the Hub, and left the place almost immediately after Owen had legged it to Turnmill - the Weevils outside the hospital were still cowering and unresponsive from encountering him. But, of course, with the whole city on standby, the bus service wasn't running. So I started off at a limp towards the Hub. I tried in vain to contact Ianto. No answer from Gwen. For a while, nothing could be heard over the intercoms. I asked what was going on, but Owen told me to focus on the hospital, and I didn't have the heart to tell him I had left.

I stumbled down the main road, trying to keep my mind on anything except the pain in my left leg and the twinge in my neck. The cars were stationary in a jam - everyone was fleeing the city for fear of further attack. Thankfully, the Weevils were stalking the houses - none could be found on the main roads. But still, if I encountered any now, I had only a gun to help me, and in this state, who knows what might happen?

I thought, briefly, of the chance that this walk was reliant on. Suppose I did encounter a Weevil or two? Suppose I was killed? Would I regenerate? I felt a sick churning in my stomach as I contemplated the answer. _No need to go down that road..._

I turned my thoughts to Jack. _What did John mean? Was Jack really buried alive? _I felt my stomach churn and bade away the thought. _And would John recognise me when he saw me? And what was going on about Gray??_ It infuriated me, how little I knew.

- - - - - - -

Some time later, when I was just leaving the main roads for the Bay, Owen reached the nuclear power station.

"Tosh, you're going to have to help me out here, I haven't got a bloody clue what I'm doing," he admitted over the intercoms. I kept quiet, not keen on interrupting them (or giving away the fact that I was disobeying Jack and Owen's 'orders').

"Okay, I don't want you to panic, but the reactor's already hit the critical point," Toshiko was telling Owen as I started down the lane to Cardiff Bay, keeping my eyes peeled for signs of weevils. I flinched as a dog howled in the distance, cursed myself for my jumpiness, and set off again.

"You're telling me it's going into meltdown, aren't you?" replied Owen, "And I'm at the eye of the storm."

"Yes. Sorry."

"Right, can you fix it?"

"Of course I can, I'm brilliant!"

"Yeah," replied Owen wearily. I felt elated as I turned a corner and there: the water tower was in sight.

"I'm gonna try and divert power from the auxiliary source back to Turnmill," Toshiko explained, "If that works, I can talk you through restoring the coolant system. Right. Now -" BANG!

I stopped dead in the street.

"Tosh!" Owen exclaimed. I waited a second, but Toshiko didn't reply. My heart pounded in my chest, curses running through my mind, my mouth too frozen in shock to speak them. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, looked across to the sea by which the Tourist Office entrance lay, and ran. My legs began to buckle under the pressure of my weight. I bounded across the wooden walkway and wrenched the door of the Tourist Information Office open.

Owen was still yelling as I ran around the desk and jammed the button down which opened the secret passageway. I forced my way through the passage, using each stumble to propel myself forward, praying constantly that Toshiko was all right.

"Tosh!" Owen was yelling, "Can you hear me, are you there?"

I reached the cog door, quite breathless, and whacked my fist against the button at the side. I reached back for my gun and cocked it. Two bullets. And I'd never had the best aim.

I could hear a voice inside, just snippets of a conversation - _"death... waste.... more as a relief."_ The cog door was grinding open as he spoke and the alarm wailed - not for the first time, I _wished_ it didn't have to make so much bloody noise. It was a male voice, but certainly not Jack or John. And that could only mean...

Gray stood before me in the Hub. I ran in, my eyes scanning for Toshiko, my gun pointed at his chest. He seemed to hesitate. "Tosh?" I yelled out into the Hub, my eyes fized on Gray, "Ianto? _Gwen?"_

"You!" Gray started suddenly, clearly surprised to see me here. His face suddenly contorted in fury, "You broke his heart!" he yelled suddenly, and all thoughts of firing my weapon fled my mind. _What?! Who the hell is he talking - _Realisation dawned on me. _Jack... Oh crap, he remembers me. _He advanced on me, and I raised my gun again, "He waited for you! We all did! And you knew all along!"

He raised his gun to me and fired. It ricocheted off the wall behind me and shattered a glass wall to my left. I shrieked, my gun hanging at my side. I raised it, but my hand was shaking. I fired once - I missed and hit the computer. _Shit! One shot left...!_

His eyes were filled with rage. I swallowed, backing up against the wall. "You could have saved us!" he roared.

"I-I'm sorry!" I cried, my mind racing ahead of me, "Gray, I'm sorry - I'm _so _sorry. Please, I didn't know!"

He raised his gun again and I raised mine in a rush of fear. I fired blindly, in shock, but missed. Then -

BANG! He fired. I screamed in agony as my collarbone shattered, sending spikes of pain through my body.

"Tosh!" Owen was yelling through the intercom as the hope and rage left my body, "Can you hear me? Tosh!"

I sank to the ground, my legs finally collapsing under my weight. My heart felt hollow. I called out Toshiko's name, then Ianto's. No one replied. I looked down at myself, shaking uncontrollably as I lay on the floor, and gasped frantically for air. A hole was punctured in my chest. I grasped hopelessly at reality, practically feeling the life draining from my body. A circle of red was growing outwards from my collarbone, down my shirt, pooling at my stomach, dripping off onto the metal grating. Gray stood over me, triumphant.

"What's it like? How does it feel?" he asked, crouching down. I couldn't speak - only gasp and cough, "Are you afraid? Are you sad?" He drew his fingers gently across my face, but I couldn't think to protest, even if I had been able to. In my mind, I was begging him for mercy, for his help, but of course, nothing sounded from my already too cold lips, "You can tell me. The battle's done."

A sudden knocking echoed through the place. I could still hear Owen over the intercom, yelling out for Toshiko, but I couldn't even see her... Where _was_ she?

"What's that?" Gray asked as the room began to spin before my eyes. He looked around and left, not sparing me another glance. The knocking continued.

"Tosh, talk to me," a voice whispered in my ear. Owen... "I need your help here, babe."

"_Owen..._" I gasped, my vision blurring as the feeling left my body. "_Help... me..._"

"Tosh, come on girl..." He couldn't hear me. Perhaps no one ever would again.

The thudding in the Hub had ended. Perhaps I'd never know what it was.

I could no longer feel my hands, nor my legs, nor my face. My eyes froze and I descended into darkness.

- - - - - - -

You know how they say that in the last moments of your death, your whole life flashes before your eyes?

Well, here's a secret for you:

It's a load of bull.

* * *

A/N: Erm... Sorry? -hides- I did continue it, but it was getting too long, so I thought this would be the, uh, 'best' place to cut it. (That, and I'm evil.)

((Let me know what you guys all think about that rating issue!))

**Oh, updates *may* be more frequent now - I really don't want to have to put this on hiatus during coursework/exam season, so I'm going to try and get it finished before April. =D**


	77. The Darkness

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of inspiration for witty disclaimers... D= ((And please don't say I never had any =P))**

A/N: Nyaaahhhh.... this episode is so depressing. TT_TT  
**SO MANY SPOILERS. But if you didn't want spoilers, you probably should have stopped reading - oooh, 77 chapters ago?**  
((Pretty graphic description ahead, just to warn you.))

* * *

**The Darkness**

I was trapped in nothingness, the void of life.

I could see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing, sense... nothing. Just the darkness. An eternity of black, held in mere seconds of death. And then -

Light. Gold. Warmth. But I felt the opposite to what I saw. I heard screaming - was that me? - and sharp pinpricks of pain in every single nerve in my body. I -

_Oh God..._

_Oh my - Oh no... What-What's happen - AARRGHHHHH!_

My body exploded. At least, that's how it felt. Each and every one of my cells exploded into the air, ripping apart my body, tearing my flesh to shreds. I screamed and screamed and screamed. My body was on fire, the heat rippling through my toes, my legs, my waist, my chest, my hands, my arms, my head. My mind was filled with panic and rage and fear - there was no room for anything besides pain. Anything and everything else - all my worries, all my questions, all my thoughts - were compressed and pushed aside and destroyed.

The pain seemed to last an age, but then - before I knew it - it was all over. I collapsed to my knees - at some point during the torture I had stood.

_Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God... What **was **that?!_

My mind jumped back to life. My limbs tingled, my head shook, and my eyes forced themselves open. I looked across at the Hub before me. I was knelt in a pool of blood.

I had regenerated.

I squeezed my eyes shut in fear. _Oh God oh God oh God..._ _What if I don't have a human form? What if I don't have hands, or - or legs, or a... or a... or a mouth?! ... Oh fuck, what if I'm a **guy**?!_ I opened one eye tentatively, then the other.

Eyes. Definitely still had eyes. I reached up - ooh, my left arm was fixed - and: yep, two hands. Two... rather big hands. That's weird. Two arms - very freckly arms, but two arms, nonetheless. I looked down - yep, there they were: two perfectly human legs and feet. Awesome. And as a bonus, I was no longer bleeding. Gunshot wound = gone. Excellent.

I reached up again and touched my face lightly. I seemed human enough... Yep, two eyes - _only_ two eyes, thank God. One - _holy Hell, my nose is massive!_ Lips, teeth, tongue. Good. Ears! Love the ears! And... hair? Yep, got that too. Ooh, not much though. Feels like a - _OH MY GOD, I _**_AM _**_A GUY!_ My hands leapt downwards in fear and - _Oh thank God._ Nope, definitely still a girl.

_So... _I felt over my face again and realised in surprise - although I suppose I shouldn't have been - that my scars had disappeared. No rough grooves were engraved in my face. I felt down my neck, my shoulders - my top felt suddenly quite small - my chest. Oh _hello boobs!_ I felt myself smile in spite of the circumstances, then I remembered -

"TOSH!" Oh frick! Wow, this regeneration must be really self-centred.

Stumbling a little in my now too-small shoes (apparently I was not quite so petite anymore, though I felt by no means unattractive... God, I really _was_ shallow...) I ran across the Hub, casting glances around myself for any sign of Gray.

"Tosh!" I called again, then shrieked. I had reached the top of the medical station, where a thick pool of blood lay. To my surprise, I didn't feel at all faint. Apparently fears and dislikes were also changed in regeneration. Awesome.

I ran towards the blood, calling out to Toshiko. When I reached the top of the stairs, I was horrified. The blood flowed in a thick, sticky trail down the steps, ending at Toshiko. She was lying in a pool of her own blood, clutching a hand to her stomach, fiddling with a scanner in her other hand.

"Oh my God, Tosh," I whispered, making my way carefully down the steps. She looked up and screamed. I was immediately worried - _H__ad I got it wrong? Do I have an extra nose, or tentacles, or something?_ But then it hit me.

"No! No, Tosh, it's me! Remember, it's me! It's Alli!" I said, my voice increasing in volume as I spoke. Toshiko stopped screaming, her eyes still wide in fear. "Tosh! Please, trust me!"

She looked horrified, and reached up to the medical tray. She fumbled around and pulled off a scalpel, brandishing it at me fearfully.

"Tosh!" I cried again, flinching for fear of her throwing it at me, "Tosh, it's Alli, please believe me, it really is. I changed - just like the Doctor did - it's a long story but you've _got_ to trust me." She didn't lower the weapon.

"What's goin' on?" Owen's voice rang in my ear, "You still there? Tosh, come on girl."

"Tosh..." I said gently, lowering myself to her level and trying to ignore the scalpel, "Tosh, you're hurt."

She looked down, her lip quivering, to where she held her hand over a bullet wound.

"Let me help," I whispered, "Please."

"Prove it," she said, quietly but firmly. I swallowed.

"First time I came to Torchwood," I started quickly, "You were treating me - removing Huon particles from my body." She didn't look convinced. I grasped her hand and looked directly at her, focusing her attention on my face. "You told me - You told me something, after I saw you staring at Owen one time. Remember? You told me - you said you'd never give up on him. 'Not if it kills me', you said. D'you remember? You asked me to keep it a secret..." I gave a small smile, my eyes prickling. Toshiko stared up at me, her eyes crinkling into a sad, weak smile. She nodded quickly, in affirmation, and I sighed with relief. I think she would have nodded whether she believed me or not, to be honest.

"Right. Let's get you sorted out, eh?" I grinned weakly, and reached up to the medical tray. Toshiko looked back down to her computer and started typing into it. I pulled down a roll of bandage-like cloth and knelt at Toshiko's side. "The bullet's gonna be too hard to take out, and we need to keep the pressure in there," I told her gently, glancing shortly at the flow of blood from her stomach and ignoring Owen's urgent voice in my ear. "Owen can sort you out properly later. I'm gonna bandage you up, okay?"

She nodded weakly, and I peeled her top up a little, leant her forward, and started to wrap her stomach in the bandage, careful to put the right amount of pressure on. "It's done, Owen," she said quietly into the earpiece. I considered turning mine back on so I could chime in, but realised my voice would sound different - the last thing I needed was for Owen to have a panic attack.

There was a pause, and then - "Here we go! Right, you've done it! Tosh, I've got power! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, breathing heavily, casting me a pointed glance as I bandaged her.

"...Right, what's going on there?" Owen asked, unconvinced.

"Just a... machine malfunction."

"Are you hurt?"

"Who, me? No! I'm fine, it's just my arm. I'm sorting out another painkiller."

I cursed quietly and mouthed 'Sorry', reaching up to the medical table for a syringe. I finished bandaging her and went to search the cupboards for a suitable painkiller.

"Good," said Owen, reassured.

I filled the syringe with the liquid, and looked at Tosh. She nodded, holding her breath, and I stabbed the needle into her thigh, just as I had seen Owen and the Doctor do before.

"That okay?" I asked nervously, and she nodded, letting out her breath.

"Okay," she said to Owen.

"Come on, let's do this together."

"Right… okay…," she muttered, typing into the computer. She looked up at me suddenly, then past me to the wall, onto which a projection was showing the radiation levels from Turnmill. I looked behind at the wall. "Oh God. Owen..."

"What's the matter?"

"There's no way to stop the meltdown," she said quietly, "It's too far gone."

"Okay, okay, that is not good, is it? But come on, Tosh, there's got to be something, there's always something. Come on."

"The only option is to vent the flow channels internally."

"Vent them where?"

Toshiko looked anxiously up at me, "Well... The area you're in is the containment building."

"Yeah?"

"You need to set up a time-delay programme, channel the fuel into that bunker and instigate permanent lockdown. Seal the building and the meltdown will be contained within. And, obviously, remember to get out."

"Yeah, I think I can remember that bit," Owen said, and I could practically hear his smirk.

"I'll open the system protocol, you just need to enter the timeframe and authorise, okay?"

"Okay, Tosh. Let's do this thing," said Owen. I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding. "And, Tosh?" Owen said again suddenly, "Thank you."

I grinned at Toshiko, and her eyes suddenly gained that little bit of lost life. "That's what I'm here for," she smiled.

I stood gingerly as she began to type into the machine. The programming could only be done from Tosh's device - I could do nothing more here.

"Tosh, I'm gonna go find Ianto and Gwen," I said softly. _And John, and Gray..._ I added silently, still scared of what he was up to - what _was_ that tapping sound from earlier? Toshiko nodded encouragingly. I moved towards the steps out of the medical bay, looking anxiously over my shoulder at her as I walked clumsily. Yeah, I was definitely going to need new shoes. A whole new wardrobe, by the looks of things.

I pulled my gun out and held it in front of me as I made my way across the Hub to the cells - where the knocking noise had come from earlier. As I approached, I heard nothing from below. I grasped the gun tighter in anticipation, hesitated at the archway, then -

I froze, stock still. I had glanced to the side, and captured my reflection in a glass wall opposite me. My jaw dropped. I turned to look around myself, just to make sure it really was me in the reflection. _Who was that person...?_ It might have been me, mentally, but... _Blimey, I look about 30!_ (In hindsight, this was a big overreaction.) The woman looked back at me. I gaped at her, raised the gun. She raised her own identical gun. _Wow..._ This person was _not_ me. She stood a couple of inches taller, with short, bob-like ginger hair, and freckly arms. She looked oddly large compared to my old body... _muscular_, even...

_"Owen, get out of there!"_ I heard suddenly, from the medical bay. My mind snapped back into motion and I sprinted as fast as my new body would take me down through the archway. I followed the corridor along until I reached the cells. There, before me, stood Jack, with Gwen latched onto his side. I felt a whole load of tension fall from my body as I watched him from the shadows. Ianto was walking towards him from a cell.

"I thought we'd lost you," he said wearily. None of them had noticed me.

"Never," Jack said quietly, pulling Ianto into a hug, "_Never._" The sound of his voice was far more comforting than it should have been, I swear.

I took this as my cue, and stepped forwards, bracing myself for the reactions. Gwen immediately stepped away, pulled out a gun, and aimed for my head. Huh. Deja vu. Ianto gasped and pulled away from Jack, but didn't pull out his own gun. Jack, if he was shocked, didn't show it. Much. He looked apprehensive, but not scared, or disbelieving.

"Who are you?" roared Gwen violently, jerking the gun at me.

I swallowed and looked up at Jack, not daring to take a step forward. My throat seemed to close up on me as I spoke. "It's me, Jack," I said quietly, the awful truth coming back to me as I realised I'd never be that little girl again. Gwen's hand froze, and Jack started, but didn't speak. "It's Alli."

Ianto's mouth fell open, and Jack swallowed. His eyes suddenly seemed to shine... _Must be a trick of the light._ Gwen continued to point the gun at me.

"Where is she?" she demanded, "Where's Alli? What have you done with -" she broke off as Jack reached across and pushed the gun down. She looked up at him with a mixture of incredulity and wonder. Jack stepped forward and I mirrored him. Before he could speak, however, Ianto did.

"You're Alli?" he asked in disbelief, "Alli Tyler?" I nodded. Jack took another step forward.

"Alli...?" he whispered uncertainly. I nodded, my vision blurring suddenly, "You regenerated..." I nodded again. biting my lip. And suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in his arms and taken away from this place. I ran towards him and threw myself into his arms. I almost laughed when he actually stumbled backwards - had I grown that much?

"What the hell _happened_ to you?!" I asked him, my voice slightly muffled by his shoulder.

"Buried alive," he said shortly, "It was Gray. Long story."

"I'll bet," I smiled, for the moment not even caring, as long as he was okay.

"What happened to _you_?" he asked me in turn.

"Gray," I answered back with a bitter smile, pulling away a little, "He shot me."

"Quite a queue for the hugs," a voice said suddenly. I turned in surprise - John stood before me.

"Always has been, always will be," Jack said cockily, "Nice use of the ring."

"Thank you," John replied, "Least I could do. Listen, Gray's in the Hub."

"I know. It's done," said Jack quietly. _Wait... what's 'done'? Was Gray... dead?_

_Oh shit!_ "TOSH!" I yelled suddenly, remembering the reason for my trying to find the others in the first place. I broke away completely and grabbed Jack's arm, pulling him across the corridor. "We've got to get to Tosh!" I explained as I pulled him along, "She's hurt!"

The others - whether they believed I was really Alli or not - followed us out, and I sprinted up out of the cell department, ignoring John's calls of "Who's the new chick?" behind us.

We reached the medical bay in almost no time, and found Toshiko lying on the floor, just as I had left her. Jack had followed me down, but Ianto and Gwen seemed rather distracted by the blood at the top of the stairs.

"Tosh?" I asked. She looked sad, vacant. _Please, oh please, don't let her be dead..._

"Toshiko?" Jack called out to her, "Toshiko?! Gwen, I need help down here!" he called up to Gwen. Toshiko stirred.

I moved back as Gwen ran down and grabbed a syringe from the table, finding a painkiller or medication, or something. I looked up at the screen on the wall. "Owen..." I muttered.

Ianto walked slowly down the steps towards us, glancing up at the wall, then to me, then to Jack. "The nuclear plant at Turnmill," he said to Jack, as Toshiko opened her eyes slowly, "Owen's there."

"Sealed in," she said faintly. I felt my hands leap to my mouth in horror. _Oh, please don't let her die..._ "Re-routed the blast. I couldn't save him." Her voice seemed to brake, and it was that, more than anything, which put the tears in my eyes. Despite my healed wound, I felt a pain in my stomach. Owen was _dead_? Jack looked up at the wall, his expression completely unreadable, as always. Gwen kneeled at Toshiko's side and injected her with something, wordless. Even John seemed still, watching us from above the bay.

"Tosh?" asked Gwen softly. Toshiko nodded.

"Is she gonna be okay?" I asked quietly. Jack looked up to me.

"I think so," he said, and I let out a breath of relief, "You stopped her losing too much blood when you bandaged her up. But she needs to get to a hospital."

Ianto took that as his cue and pulled out his phone, hurrying out of the bay to call for an ambulance. Gwen stood and walked quietly out of the bay, looking as if she was about to burst into tears. I had forgotten - she and Owen were together, for a time.

I took her place at Toshiko's side. She turned to look at me and attempted a smile. "Thank you," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. I nodded, my eyes watering with half-sadness, half-relief.

"You're gonna be okay," I said, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it gently, "Everything's gonna be okay."

* * *

A/N: TT_TT I know Alli kinda hated Owen, but I'm still allowed to grieve, right? =( Uh... I honestly didn't plan to save Toshiko... Sorry if any of you think I shouldn't have, but - Hey, it's my story, and it's already waaaay AU. =P And it makes sense, really... In my mind, at least.

Sorry for the reeeaaally long chapter, but I couldn't find a good place to split it.


	78. The End Is Where We Start From

**Disclaimer: I need some new inventive ways to tell people I don't own things... =/ Any suggestions? 8D**

A/N: Ooh, lookie here, it's the tie-up-the-loose-ends filler chapter! =D Sorry for the wait, half-term was a lot more hectic than I anticipated.

* * *

**The End Is Where We Start From**

Owen... was dead. Physically... _dead_. All over again - except, this time, it was forever.

Toshiko was at the hospital, having her gunshot wound treated. That's one of the good things about Torchwood - no one asks any questions.

Gwen was at home, with Rhys. Ianto was... wherever Ianto goes when he's not at the Hub. His flat, I guess.

I had been banished from the hospital by Jack - for a day, at least - and was finally setting things up in my new flat. It was small, but comfortably so. I had a kitchen-slash-living-room, a bedroom, bathroom - all I needed really. More space than I had possessions. Of course, that left me with a problem when I had finished finding places for my things, and was forced to actually think about something real.

I caught my reflection in the mirror that hung opposite my bed. I sighed - who was this girl? She was... tall. Ginger. Thin face. Freckles. Dark blue eyes. Rough skin, but no scars. I reached up self-consciously and pulled at my too-short hair. I'd done the same thing at least 15 times during my unpacking - was it merely distraction, or are habits passed on during regeneration as well? _Oh, this is ridiculous,_ I thought, dropping my hands to my lap in frustration, _I need to talk to the Doctor._ But he'd only dropped me off a few days ago. It'd be another fortnight before he visited again. It hit me suddenly - Martha's phone!

I pulled my old mobile out of my pocket and searched for Martha's number - her phone was on the TARDIS, if I remembered correctly. I held it up to my ear and held my breath. After a few rings, It dialled out. Typical. Probably out on some adventure.

Far too agitated to sit and think - I was beginning to wonder if this regeneration had some kind of ADD or something - I switched on the television. The first channel showed the news - a camera on a helicopter was panning around the city, overhead. The damage looked far worse from up there. Cardiff was a wreck.

_"- recovering from a series of devastating explosions,"_ the news reporter was saying,_ "City leaders say it's too early to account for the full scale of the damage, which also saw sightings of vicious animals on the streets of the city."_ I swallowed and turned it off again. I looked out to the window, from which I could see right across the bay to the sea. Destruction and heartbreak and loss were everywhere. The hospitals were insanely busy with everyone who had been attacked by the Weevils Gray had called. Everything was destroyed.

- - - - - - -

I don't know what happened to Gray. Jack did something with the body, but I didn't have the heart to ask what. He isn't speaking much. I think... maybe he thinks it's his fault. That if he hadn't lost Gray all those years ago, maybe Owen would still be here. Maybe all this wouldn't have happened.

John had left - gone to 'explore' the Earth, or something. Jack told him who I was - that girl who abandoned him back on the Boeshane Peninsula. I didn't stick around to see his reaction.

Toshiko seemed to have come to terms with my appearance before Ianto or Gwen. I'm not sure exactly why - maybe it was because she had seen the Doctor in different forms, maybe it was because she trusted me, or maybe she just needed something to hold onto after Owen... Maybe it was all three, or maybe something completely different.

Ianto was less accepting, but I could tell he was trying to hide it. We would pass each other in the Hub, and he'd give me a smile, but turn away almost instantly, or look past me and walk straight on. I understood, but I couldn't help wishing he'd talk to me rather than pretend he was fine.

Gwen... well, she seemed to think I was some kind of imposter. I think the only thing keeping her from walking beside me with a gun at my head 24/7 was Jack.

And Jack himself, well, he was just plain old Jack. Hidden again behind his mask of smiles and false words. Surprise, surprise.

- - - - - - -

We had been putting it off, but soon came the time to stop grieving. Toshiko was out of the hospital but heavily bandaged, and on her first day back, we said our goodbyes to Owen. I'm not exactly sure what Jack did with his body - if there _was_ a body, that is.

Ianto performed the Final Logout Procedure in Owen's name. He was no longer a member of the institute. _'Inactive - deceased'_. It looked so cold, so technical, so impersonal, there on the screen; everything death shouldn't be. We packed way his belongings, never to be seen again, and Jack took them out to a warehouse somewhere in Wales. Every trace of him was vanished from the Hub.

I found Toshiko later that day at her desk, her cheeks shining with tears. Peering over her shoulder, I saw a flash of what she was looking at: a photo of her and Owen, stood on the bay, laughing, eating chips. It looked old - before I arrived here, at least. I was suddenly unsure of what to do, but wrapped an arm around her and signalled to Ianto to get her a cup of tea. That was Jackie's roots showing through, I supposed, even after regeneration.

Gwen and Jack made their way over at some point, and that was us. The new Torchwood team.

"Now we carry on," Jack said suddenly, taking us all by surprise. Toshiko stroked the photograph in her hand fondly, then placed it in her jacket pocket.

"I don't think I can," she said shakily, sounding as if she hadn't spoken in years, "Not after this."

"Me neither," said Gwen, her voice braking slightly.

"You can. We all can." He wrapped an arm around Ianto and me, his other arm reaching out to Gwen and Toshiko. We all stood there, under Jack's protection, "The end is where we start from."

- - - - - - -

And so, Torchwood carried on, just the same as before. Soon enough, the team came to accept the fact that I really _was _Alli Tyler - though it didn't go without drama, especially after I discovered that this body didn't take too kindly to my usual intake of coffee. Gwen was almost in outrage. I think Ianto's still half in denial.

We all went on with our jobs - saving the world, restoring Cardiff. Getting rid of Weevils and memories, and rebuilding the city. I completely moved into my new flat, a five minute walk from the Hub, and filled my spare time with shopping for mew clothes and necessities.

We helped a family of alien Tirulians find their way back through the Rift, and stopped several near-invasions - it's shocking how many species want the Earth, for fuel, or money, or power, or some other ridiculous reason. The Rift seemed to be going into overdrive to keep us all occupied - perhaps it sensed that we needed a distraction. (Or perhaps I was in severe caffeine withdrawal.) Either way, there was certainly enough for us to be getting on with, so the loss of Owen was temporarily driven from our minds.

We did eventually hold a mini sort of ceremony for him; as we cleared away his last belongings from the medical station, everyone - and by 'everyone', I mean Tosh and Gwen - started to get quite emotional again. Ianto and I took over the Weevil hunt that afternoon.

Toshiko appeared to be dealing with it all pretty well, but she was far too good at hiding her emotions for me to believe that. Jack seemed to suffer in his own false guilt from the ordeal, and even Gwen seemed less angry now. It seemed like only time would restore the team.

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A/N: In case you were wondering - Alli doesn't have a 'fear' of blood anymore, so there's no reason why she wouldn't have visited Toshiko in the hospital.

Sorry it's short, but I wanted to cut it here, because...  
Next up: Stolen Earth / Journey's End! 8D


	79. Invasion

**Disclaimer: Wow... anyone seen the 3D advert for series 5? It's quite shocking... O_O I thought Doctor Who was supposed to have _good_ graphics?**

A/N: Well that week whizzed by... O_O Sorry for the lateness, I didn't even realise it had passed! O_o  
Bring on the Daleks! =D ((And excuse the sucky title... XD))

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**Invasion**

It was on one hectic morning, about a week and a half after the Gray incident, that the next disaster struck.

I was sat with Toshiko, working on a new alien language translator, when an earthquake crashed through the Hub - or at least, what felt like an earthquake. I yelped as I was thrown back from the station, landing flat on my back on the floor. A groan from my left told me Toshiko had undergone a similar experience.

The shudder lasted only seconds before lifting, and Toshiko and I were left lying on the floor. Footsteps from above told me Jack was rushing down from his office.

"Ianto? Tosh? Are you okay?" he asked loudly, over the sound of cracking and creaking from various parts of the now-falling-apart Hub, "Alli? Gwen?"

"Oh, just wonderful," I sighed back sarcastically, heaving myself up and studying the mess of paper and broken china now littering the floor. I swore loudly as I realised that half the research I'd spent three days compiling was piled in a mess around me.

"No broken bones..." reported Ianto, pulling himself up from the computer desk a few metres in front of mine, "Slight loss of dignity. No change there, then."

I snorted as Toshiko mumbled across at Jack, and Gwen stood up with a groan at the computer station across the Hub.

"The whole city must've felt that!" she exclaimed, shaking off her clothes and hair, "The whole of South Wales!"

I'm gonna take a look outside," Jack shouted across, running down the rest of the stairs and out the cog door. The alarm sounded in the Hub and we all rushed into action at the computer stations. Gwen and Ianto gathered around us and Toshiko and I drew up a damage scale.

"Whoa..." I breathed, gaping as I stared at the screen.

"Little bit bigger than South Wales," added Toshiko, also staring at the map. Red dots flashed all over the screen. But it wasn't just Cardiff - not even just Wales. A zoom out and - the entire world. The quake had affected the _entire world_.

"Seriously guys..." I muttered, staring around at the others' reactions, "Is that, like... even possible?"

We shared a moment of stunned glances, then burst into action once more.

"Jack, you there?" Gwen asked over the intercoms, rushing back over to her computer to tap into the CCTV outside. "What was - wait... Hey, wasn't it morning?"

"Yeah, half 8," answered Ianto, frowning and glancing at his watch.

"It's... it's night!" she said, astounded, pushing the computer screen out to face us. We all rushed over - it was dark enough out there, all right.

"But that's impossible!" Toshiko cried, staring in outrage at the screen.

"Jack?" I repeated into the intercoms. But at that very moment, the alarm sounded, the cog wheel rolled across, and Jack burst into the Hub.

"Well?" prompted Ianto as he ran over. "Either we travelled in time or the sun exploded. Personally, I'd rather believe someone threw a veil over the CCTV camera."

"No such luck," said Jack breathlessly, "But you were half right the first time."

I turned towards him, astounded, "We've travelled in time? Like, the whole _Earth _has travelled in time?!"

"Not quite," amended Jack, "But there's a dozen-odd planets in the sky - and call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure they weren't there before." He paused as realisation dawned on the four of us. "Something's moved the Earth."

**- - - - - - -**

The planet was going crazy, with everyone in outrage or fear. The media was busy drumming up a storm, and in the meantime, news channels reported with scientific debates on the matter.

According to American news, there were 26 planets now in the sky above Earth. I had gone up to see it myself, out of disbelief more than anything; y'know, for a disaster, it sure was beautiful. A mass of planets, swirling colours and gases, amidst a haze of stars and asteroids. Looking up, I felt tiny - with the giant planets looming over us, we were nothing.

Back in the hub, we could do nothing more than observe. It was a strangely helpless feeling, not to be able to fight or communicate with whoever had done this. I had tried to call the Doctor numerous time, but to no avail. I couldn't get through - and for _my_ phone, that really was saying something.

"Gwen, come and see!" Jack yelled up to where Gwen had disappeared to on her phone. We all gathered around the computer he was ushering us towards, and she bounded down a few moments later. On the screen was an image - a virtual reconstruction of the Earth, surrounded by a mass of other planets. "Someone's established an artificial atmospheric shell, keeping the air and holding in the heat."

"Whoever's done this wants the human race alive," Ianto noted, "That's a plus."

Toshiko leant over and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard. The image zoomed out to show each of the planets clearly, "Twenty-seven planets, including the Earth," she explained, "I haven't been able to -"

"Hold on, what's that?" I said abruptly, pointing to the screen. A red flashing dot had appeared from the right, making its way slowly towards the centre of the screen.

"That's not a planet!" said Gwen nervously.

Toshiko seemed to freeze, then typed furiously on the screen until the distance markers appeared, "Three-thousand miles and closing."

_"_But who are they?!" Ianto asked in agitation.

"Aliens?" I suggested vaguely, just as Jack's phone began to ring. _The Doctor...?_

No such luck. Jack flipped the phone open with a sigh of relief, "Martha Jones! Voice of a nightingale." _What was it with him and nightingales?!_ "Tell me you put something in my drink."

A pause, then "Not a word. Where are you? ... Ooh, nice for some."

I exchanged impatient glances with the rest of the team, but we waited in silence as Jack spoke to Martha. "Did you get that thing working?" he asked slyly, clearly talking about something he shouldn't know about. After a moment, he shrugged casually - "Oh, I met a soldier in a bar. Long story."

"When was that?" Ianto interjected instantly, and I felt myself smile.

"Strictly professional," Jack reassured him.

"Fifteen-hundred miles, and accelerating," Gwen warned suddenly, nodding at the screen, where the red dot was fast approaching Earth, "They're almost here."

Jack opened his mouth - perhaps to reply to Martha, or Gwen - but he was cut off as a loud, metallic voice sounded through the Hub.

"EXTERMINATE!" - Jack froze at the sound. They were here. It must have come from the computer, though I don't know how. We all looked to Jack for some explanation - who (or what) was it?!

"No..." Jack breathed, completely paralysed in shock. Oh frick - this _must_ be bad.

"Jack...?" I pondered aloud, scared not by the voice, but by Jack's reaction.

The voice came through again - "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" It sounded machine-like and cold - was it a recording?

"Oh, no..."

"What is it?" Gwen asked fearfully, "Who are they? Do you know them, Jack?"

Jack's lip quivered. He looked down at me, then to the others in turn, and pulled Ianto closer to him. He wrapped his other arm - still holding the phone - around Gwen and Toshiko, and reached around Ianto to pull me into the group as well, his expression one of pure terror.

The voice was all the while getting louder and louder - the same voice, the same word, over and over again. "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

"There's nothing I can do!" Jack cried helplessly, his eyes watering, "I'm sorry, but... we're dead."

I turned around in shock and stared up at him, "What?" I asked, my mouth suddenly dry. "What d'you mean?"

"Jack?" Prompted Gwen when he didn't answer. He looked across at me.

"It's Them, Alli..." he whispered, as though they might hear him, "It's the Daleks."

"No..." I heard myself whisper as I stumbled backwards - _it **can't** be!_ "No - you're wrong. They're dead."

Jack laughed humourlessly, "Yeah... They're always 'dead'." I sat on the edge of the desk, feeling faint. They _couldn't_ be back... The Daleks, these creatures - these _monsters_ that had sent Rose away, and destroyed whole planets - the Doctor's whole _species_. It was just... impossible...

"Jack..." I whispered, hardly daring to look up, "Jack, what do we do?"

He looked at me, right into my eyes, and swallowed. "There's nothing we _can_ do."

Gwen looked as if she was about to interrupt, when an alarm sounded in the Hub. Jack rushed across to the other computer, his phone still in his hand, staring at the screen.

_"The shields are down!_" yelled a voice, distorted and crackling, through the system. The sounds of laser beams could be heard in the background, amidst the screams and cries, _"There's so many of them! Abandon ship!"_

"Where is it?" asked Toshiko hurriedly, rushing over to Jack. Gwen and Ianto ran over to the other computers, typing furiously.

He looked up at me in horror. "The Valiant's down!" I felt my mouth fall open in shock. _No... They brought down the **Valiant**?!_

_"_Airforce retreating over North Africa!" reported Ianto, tapping something into another computer, "Daleks landing in Japan."

"We've lost contact with the Prime Minister's plane," yelled Gwen from her computer. She looked up at Jack desperately, "Jack! Manhattan!"

Jack looked down at his hand, still clutching the phone. He held it up to his ear and yelled to Martha - "Martha, get out of there!"

I swallowed and moved across to the computer screen. I brought up the World Emergency Alert system - red lights were flashing up all over the world. But there was a pattern... Yes! I indicated for Jack to come over, and he did so frantically.

"Jack, look - just look at the alerts. The Valiant, Ministry of Defence, army bases, _UNIT_. Jack, they're heading straight for the military. And Manhattan hasn't been hit yet!"

His eyes widened in horror. "Martha, they're targeting military bases," he warned urgently through the phone, "And you're next on the list!"

A pause while Martha spoke, and the whole world seemed to slow down. Jack let out a growl of frustration and hit his free fist down on the table. "They're activating Project Indigo."

"They're what?" asked Gwen in confusion. We didn't find out though - right at that second, time sped up again, and about a million reports flew into the system. We all rushed to our computers in an attempt to deal with the crisis. Jack was back to yelling into his phone.

"Martha, I'm telling you," he pleaded, "Don't use Project Indigo! It's not safe!"

"Civillian reoprts coming through from major cities and industrial areas," reported Ianto over the numerous alarms sounding throughout the Hub.

"Emergency number's down - too many people trying to ring through," Gwen yelled across, "Jack, who's gonna deal with this?"

"I've got reports coming in from police stations," added Toshiko loudly, "No one's acting, they're all too scared."

"Downing Street's gone into Lockdown."

"Oh, of course they have," I cut in angrily, bringing up the Code Red alert system it had been activated in almost every country, "No authority can deal with this. Government's powerless."

Gwen looked outraged, "But what about everyone else? How are they gonna know what to do?"

Jack looked up, his face unreadable. "They're on there own." He spoke into the phone again - "Martha, please, you have to believe me." I ran over to where he was pacing behind a desk, too anxious to deal with the alerts and reports. "It'll kill you!"

He was cut off by Martha as she spoke again, his hands practically trembling in agitation. "Martha, don't do it!" She answered, and he yelled back - "DON'T!"

Jack lowered the phone suddenly and looked at it in horror. He threw it down suddenly and kicked the desk violently, his rage overwhelming him.

"Jack?" I asked worriedly, infinitely glad that this regeneration didn't waste time stuttering when nervous. "Jack, what happened?" Ianto, Toshiko and Gwen were suddenly at my side.

_The line has gone dead. Jack lowers it from his ear, stares at it, and kicks the desk in sheer rage and frustration. Gwen flinches._

"What's Project Indigo?" asked Ianto.

Jack let out a short breath, "Experimental teleport salvaged from the Sontarans," he explained hurriedly, "But they haven't got co-ordinates or stabilisation!"

I gaped - what were UNIT _thinking_ - playing around with that kind of technology?!

Gwen was the first to speak - "Where is she?"

When Jack replied, it was barely more than a whisper. I had to strain to hear him over the alarms. "Scattered into atoms." I felt my stomach churn and my hearts fall. "Martha's down."


	80. The Doctor's Secret Army

**Disclaimer: Haven't we settled this by now?**

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**The Doctor's Secret Army**

The team was in devastation. Alarms were still wailing and Code Reds were still flashing up on all the systems, but there was no way out. Not this time. The Daleks had reached Cardiff. If we took so much as a step outside, that would be it. End of the road.

Gwen was sat on the sofa out by the tunnel to the morgue, as far away from the computers as she could get without leaving the area. Toshiko was sat at her computer, just staring at it, lost in her thoughts and tears. Ianto was out by the coffee machine. Jack was pacing in his office. And me? I was stood, too shocked and out of sorts to move, in the middle of the room, casting around for some way I could be useful. But there was nothing. The Doctor wasn't coming for us this time. Martha was... Well... That didn't bear thinking about.

In the end... I guess Torchwood was just as vulnerable as the rest of the world - hiding behind our technology and power, and yet completely helpless in reality.

The white noise of one of the computers crackled faintly, and a voice buzzed in.

"This is the Commander General of the United Nations, calling the Dalek fleet. We surrender. I repeat: we surrender."

Ianto walked across with a tray of coffee, his hands shaking, and sat down on the sofa beside Gwen.

"Planet Earth surrenders," continued the voice. The UN was down. It really was all over. Was there _nothing_ we could do?

I pulled out my phone for the umpteenth time that minute - still nothing from the Doctor.

Where _was_ he?

- - - - - - -

It was minutes later - or perhaps hours - that anyone made contact again. A voice filtered through at the computer station, where I was sat with Toshiko.

"Can anyone hear me?" a woman asked firmly, the computer screen still showing nothing but white noise, "The subwave network is open, you should be able to hear my voice." I cast a curious glance at Toshiko._ "_Is there anyone there?"

Gwen, across the room, jumped to her feet.

"This message is of the utmost importance," continued the woman, "We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?"

"Someone's trying to get in touch!" exclaimed Gwen pointlessly. I grabbed the monitor and shook it, but nothing happened.

"Hello?" I yelled at it, momentarily forgetting where I was. Who was it?

"The whole world's crying out," Jack said dully, emerging from his office, "Just leave it."

"Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you!" the voice reprimanded. I looked across at him in surprise, then back at the screen. An image was filtering through the noise - Ianto leaped up and bounded over to the computer, along with Gwen. "Now, stand to attention, sir!"

"What?!" cried Jack in disbelief, running over to us, "Who is that?"

The image continued to fuzz, slowly blurring into an video - a webcam or something, I presumed - of an old woman, flashing up an ID card.

"Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister," the woman answered. _Woah..._

"Yeah, I know who you are," Jack replied, but before he could ask anything else -

"Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road - Are you there?" My stomach lurched - How did she know Sarah Jane?

"Yeah!" Sarah Jane's voice suddenly sounded in the Hub, and I let out a joyous laugh, "Yeah, I'm here! It's me!"

"Good! Now, let's see if we can talk to each other," Harriet answered immediately. I grinned over at Ianto, inexplicably excited now I'd heard from someone I knew on the outside. He didn't return it. After a moment, the screen before us split into four individual sections. Harriet Jones was in the top-right, Sarah Jane and Luke in the box below. Jack's image - along with Gwen, Ianto, Toshiko and I - was in the top-left. The box in the bottom-left was still white noise.

"The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through," Harriet said worriedly as I waved happily at Sarah Jane - she merely frowned at me, and I realised with a stab of sorrow that she no longer recognised me as Alli Tyler. No time to explain now, though. "I'll just boost the signal."

She looked down to tap on the keyboard, and after a second, the last screen fuzzed out to reveal the one and only Martha Jones, frowning and dressed in a rather soldier-like black UNIT uniform. "Hello?" she said uncertainly. I grinned harder as Jack let out a laugh. _She's alright!_

**"**Martha Jones!" he exclaimed happily. I laughed with relief, though it suddenly hit me that she wouldn't recognise me either - what with Owen, and the Rift, and moving into my new flat, I just hadn't had the time for any visits. "Martha, where are you?"

"I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought," she shrugged, "One second I was in Manhattan, next second - well, maybe Indigo tapped into my mind or something, because I ended up in the one place that I wanted to be."

"Don't you have a fiancé?" I wondered aloud, and received a nudge in the ribs from Ianto. "Well, what about him?" I continued quietly. He shook his head in amusement.

"But all of a sudden, it's like... the laptop turned itself on...?" Martha was saying now, not having heard my comment.

"It did," answered Harriet, "That was me. Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister," she introduced herself, flashing her ID card again.

"Yes, I know who you are," said Martha, grinning.

"I thought it was about time we all met, given the current crisis. Torchwood - this is Sarah Jane Smith."

"Of course," Jack replied, glancing at me, then back to Sarah Jane, "I've been following your work. Nice job with the Slitheen..."

"Yeah, well, I've been staying away from you lot," Sarah Jane answered hastily, "Too many guns." She nodded at Luke by way of explanation.

"All the same... might I say, looking good, ma'am," Jack replied - the typical flirt. I rolled my eyes, unamused, but Sarah Jane seemed rather pleased.

"Really?" she smiled back coyly. "Ooh!"

"Not now, Captain," Harriet reprimanded him, "And Martha Jones, former companion to the Doctor."

"But how did you find me?" questioned Martha curiously.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, this is a subwave network," explained Harriet. "A sentient piece of software programmed to seek out anyone and everyone who can help to contact the Doctor."

My heart leaped at the mention of his name. Did she have a way to get to him?

"What if the Daleks can hear us?" asked Martha nervously.

"No! That's the beauty of the subwave. It's undetectable."

"And you invented it?" Sarah Jane asked Harriet, impressed.

"I developed it. It was created by the Mr Copper Foundation."

"Yeah, but what we need right now is a weapon," argued Jack, "Martha, back there at UNIT, what did they give you? What was that key thing?"

"That key is not to be used, Doctor Jones," Harriet suddenly said, her tone final, "Not under any circumstances."

"But what is an Osterhagen Key?" questioned Jack.

"Forget about the key!" commanded Harriet, "And that's an order. All we need is the Doctor."

"Oh, excuse me, Harriet," Sarah Jane cut in, "But well, the thing is... if you're looking for the Doctor - didn't he depose you?"

"He did," admitted Harriet, "And I've wondered about that for a long time, whether I was wrong. But I stand by my actions to this day, because I knew - I knew that one day, the Earth would be in danger and the Doctor would fail to appear. I told him so myself, and he didn't listen." I clenched my teeth. _He **will** 'appear', just you watch,_ I told myself, suddenly in full confidence that he wouldn't abandon us.

"But I've been trying to find him," said Martha, "The Doctor's got my phone on the TARDIS, but I can't get through."

"That's why we need the subwave - to bring us all together," explained Harriet, "Combined forces. The Doctor's secret army."

Jack seemed to understand, even if the rest of us didn't. "Wait a minute," he said wonderingly, "We boost the signal - that's it! We transmit that telephone number through Torchwood itself, using all the power of the rift..."

"And we've got Mr Smith!" added Luke, at Sarah Jane's side, "He can link up with every telephone exchange on the Earth. He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time. Billions of phones calling out, all at once!"

Jack laughed with joy. "Haha, brilliant! Who's the kid?" he asked, pointing at Luke through the screen.

"That's my son!" said Sarah Jane indignantly.

"Excuse me - sorry," Ianto said suddenly, shuffling in front of Jack to get in view of the camera, "Sorry, hello. Ianto Jones. Um, if we start transmitting, then the subwave network is going to become visible. I mean, to the... Daleks."

"Yes," said Harriet, her voice unreadable, "and they'll trace it back to me, but my life doesn't matter. Not if it saves the Earth."

Jack stood to attention in respect, "Ma'am."

"Thank you, Captain. But there are people out there, dying. On the streets," she reminded us sadly, "Enough of words. Let's begin."

And so it did. The Torchwood team burst into action, connecting the Rift up to the computer mainframe in order to link with Mr Smith.

"Who's Mr Smith?" Ianto asked me quietly as we worked, and I suppressed the urge to laugh.

"Her computer."

He hesitated, stunned. "And she called it -?"

"Hey, don't judge," I grinned, poking him lightly. He held up his hands in surrender. "You should see her dog," I muttered under my breath.

"Uh - Jack?" a voice asked suddenly, and Jack leapt over to the screen while the rest of us worked on. Martha was speaking, "Jack, where's Alli?"

I felt my ears begin to burn as I overheard the conversation. Cringing, I cast a worried glance at Toshiko. The whole team seemed to have momentarily frozen in apprehension.

"Alli?" said Sarah Jane, "Alli's still with Torchwood? But I thought she was back with the Doctor!"

Jack looked back at me, at a loss for what to say. I swallowed and nodded shortly. Jack bounded back across and took over my job as I stepped up towards the screen.

"Uh..." I began, completely lost for words. "Well, y'know how... the Doctor can change?" I asked, directing my words at Sarah Jane after I realised Martha didn't have a clue what I was talking about, "Well, it kinda... happened... to me," I finished lamely, my voice quivering. Sarah Jane had already figured it out, and had her hands clasped to her face.

"No!" she breathed sadly, "Oh Alli, is that really you?" she asked, her voice full of pity. I nodded with half a smile. Martha was frowning.

"What?" she asked in disbelief, "You're saying... _you're_ Alli?" I nodded, "But - _what?! _How? I mean - that's just -"

"Rift power activated!" Jack interrupted suddenly, saving me from having to explain. She'd have to wait until this mess was sorted out.

"All terminals co-ordinated," added Gwen, fixing a final wire into the Rift machinery.

"National Grid online," reported Ianto.

"We're giving you everything we've got!" Toshiko told Harriet from her computer station.

"Connecting you to Mr Smith!" Sarah Jane said, flicking a switch up on the computer.

"All telephone networks combined!" added Luke.

"We'll send through the number," I said, typing the Doctor's number out on the keyboard. I cast an anxious glance at Jack, crossed my fingers, and pressed enter, "Now!"

"Opening subwave network to maximum," Harriet told us as she worked.

"Mr Smith..." said Sarah Jane nervously, "Make that call."

"Calling - the Doctor," said the mechanical voice of Mr Smith.

Jack jumped over to the Rift machinery and took hold of a lever, "And... sending!" he said as he forced it down. A blue ripple of electricity began to rise up the central column of the Hub - I flinched at its brightness. More rings continued to appear from the Rift, travelling slowly up the column until they reached the top, then disappearing.

I balled my hands into fists in nervous anticipation as the team stared up at the Rift column. _Please... Oh, please - this is our only chance. Find us, Doctor._

I clenched my eyes shut tight and prayed on nothingness. I flinched as something exploded - my eyes flew open and suddenly sparks were flying from the Rift manipulator.

"I think we've got a fix!" Jack yelled over the bangs and crashed as the Rift started to activate. I moved out of the way as Ianto made a dash for the machinery to put out a small fire.

"Mr Smith now at two-hundred percent!" reported Sarah Jane. _Come on Doctor... We need you!_

Gwen ran from her computer station across to the original screen. "Harriet, a source has locked onto your location," she said, "They've found you."

"I know," she answered, rather professionally, "I'm using the network to mask your transmission. Keep going!"

There was a sounds of explosion - but not from the Hub. The Daleks had reached Harriet. _"Exterminate!"_ I heard from the computer, and my heart froze. Harriet continued typing.

"Captain, I'm transferring the subwave network to Torchwood," she told us, "You're in charge, now. And tell the Doctor from me: he chose his companions well."

Jack walked forward and nodded, "It's been an honour."

A crash was heard from the screen, and Harriet's section of the screen cut out to white noise. I bit my lip and looked down sadly. _She must be gone... She gave her life so he could find us..._

"Where the hell is he?!" I asked Jack angrily.

And right on cue - in the section of the screen where Harriet Jones's image had just disappeared - the white noise fuzzed out, and there stood the Doctor, Jenny, and Donna Noble.

Maybe, just maybe, Planet Earth was saved.

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A/N: A lot of stealing in that chapter, I know, but I couldn't really skip it, now could I? Don't worry, there'll be more originality in the next chapter! ;D


	81. The Doctor's Return

**Disclaimer: You're just doing this to make me depressed, aren't you? D=**

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**The Doctor's Return**

I shrieked with joy as his image popped up over Harriet's, with Donna and Jenny stood just behind him. "Doctor!" I cried excitedly, practically hopping with glee.

Jack laughed with relief, then grew angry, "Where the hell have you been?! Doctor, it's the Daleks!"

"Ooh, he's a bit nice," Gwen muttered, to my alarm - did she realise that's my dad? And wasn't she _married_? "I thought he'd be older."

"He's not that young," Ianto said defensively. I snorted, elated at seeing the Doctor at last.

"They're taking people to their spaceship!" Sarah Jane added to Jack's explanation.

"But it's not just Dalek Caan!" interrupted Martha - and at that point, her, Sarah Jane and Jack were talking over each other so loudly that I doubt the Doctor heard a word.

"That's Sarah Jane!" he exclaimed blankly, clearly not having taken in a word. I froze, panicked suddenly as I realised that he too would not recognise me. I looked across at Toshiko, and felt her hand slip into mine and give it an encouraging squeeze. "Who's that boy?" the Doctor was now pondering, "Ohh, and that's Torchwood. Aren't they brilliant?" His eyes scanned the screen, and suddenly his face fell, "Hold on - where's Alli? Jack if -"

"I'm here!" I piped up loudly, not wishing to hear the Doctor's threats to Jack over my safety. I cringed as soon as I said it, as the Doctor practically recoiled in horror. "I'm... It's me, Doctor." He didn't reply. "It really is, I swear."

He didn't move for a second, and for one terrifying moment I thought he'd gone and had a heart attack or something, but finally he swallowed and leaned forwards to the screen. "Alli?" he breathed, astounded. I felt my throat start to close up. Donna and Jenny cast each other nervous looks. "What happened?! You're _ginger_! That's not fair!"

"It - wait, _what_?!" Nice to know he had his priorities right... "I - There was... an incident..." _How do I explain Gray, without explaining **everything**? Everything about Jack and me, and - Oh God, no, not now._ I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "It doesn't matter, I'll - I'll explain later."

"But - are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

I nodded, "Yeah, 'course I am."

He nodded back weakly and looked around the screen again, wordless. I assumed he had some freaky-old-Time-Lord-sense that told him I really was Alli, because he didn't question it further.

"Look, that's Martha!" pointed out Jenny excitedly, in the absence of the Doctor's voice.

"And Jack, look! Oh, it's like... an outer-space Facebook!" grinned Donna, casting an anxious look to the Doctor as she spoke. I couldn't help grinning with her.

"Everyone except Rose..." said the Doctor softly. I felt my smile fall. Whether he said it consciously or not, I wasn't sure, but it seemed to bring him back to his senses. "Look at you all, you clever people!" he exclaimed giddily.

The Doctor's section of the screen suddenly turned to white noise.

"What?!" cried Toshiko, alarmed. She reached across, dropping my hand, and started to fiddle with the keyboard and monitor.

"What happened?" Sarah Jane called across. My mind turned to worry.

Suddenly, another voice filtered through. Mechanical, cold, and deadly, "Your voice is different, and yet, its arrogance is unchanged."

Sarah Jane let out a gasp, "No. But he's dead!" she exclaimed in horror. I looked across at Jack, but he seemed as clueless as the rest of us. The voice continued -

"Welcome... to my new Empire, Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, Lord and Creator of the Dalek Race."

_Well, crap._

The voice said nothing more - we couldn't hear the Doctor or this 'Davros' character. What was going on? Was the Doctor safe?

"Jack?" I questioned, looking up at our leader. He swallowed and moved in closer to the screen.

"Sarah Jane - who is that?" he asked authoritatively, "What did he _mean_?"

"He meant what he said," answered Sarah Jane, her voice suddenly weak, "Creator of the Daleks, that's him. A devil of a man... If you can call him that."

"Right," I nodded weakly in the following silence, "Looks like we're pretty screwed then...?"

Toshiko swore suddenly. Startled, I turned to look at her.

"They can find us," she said in explanation, "The subwave network was rerouted to Torchwood, and the Daleks have just cut in. They must know where we are."

Jack ran off suddenly, without a word of explanation, leaving Toshiko, Ianto, Gwen and I to stare helplessly at each other.

"Shut off the network," Sarah Jane said, "They might already have the location, but if we shut it down, it might give you a bit more time."

I swallowed, "Keep your phones on," I directed Martha and Sarah Jane, "Call me or Jack if anything happens." They both nodded firmly, and Toshiko reached over and unplugged the computer from the system. Ianto rushed over to another computer, where we had watched the Dalek ship approach earlier.

"We defeated the Daleks before, though," Gwen said suddenly, "Well, Torchwood One did. Right?" I nodded slowly. "Well, can't we just do whatever they did?"

"No," I shook my head furiously, "Torchwood One sent them back into the Void. There's no gap for us to send them through this time - Hell, I don't even know if this new lot _came_ from the Void."

Jack darted back into the room, carrying one of the largest guns I've seen in my life, and shrugging on his coat.

"Uh - and where are you off to exactly?" I questioned, making my way forward towards him.

"Jack!" Ianto exclaimed suddenly, tapping the screen of the computer he was stood at, "Dalek ship heading for the Bay. They've found us."

Gewn swore loudly and rushed over.

"Martha, open that Indigo device!" Jack ordered Martha through his mobile phone, "Now, listen to me: lift the central panel. There's a string of numbers that keep changing. But the fourth number keeps oscillating between two different digits. Tell me what they are."

"Oh, you're not serious..." I muttered as Martha replied. What was he planning?

Jack grinned up at me and entered something into the keypad on his Rift Manipulator, "That's a teleport base-code, and that's all I need to get this thing working again. Oscillating four... and nine. Thank you, Martha Jones."

He flipped the phone shut and shoved it in his pocket. It dawned on me suddenly. "Teleport... _basecode?_ - You're _leaving_?!"

"I've gotta go," Jack explained as Gwen, Ianto and Toshiko approached, "I've got to find the Doctor."

The rest of the team said nothing, but I stepped forward. "I'm coming."

"No, you're -"

"_He's my father_!" I all-but-yelled at him, "I have a right to come."

"Alli -"

"Shut up, it's happening," I said stubbornly, and grabbed hold of his wrist-strap. I had him, I knew it. There was no time to argue.

He cast around for a moment wordlessly, then looked to the others, defeated. "We'll come back." No one answered. I guess they had reason not to trust him - it wasn't as if this was the first time we'd disappeared off together. He sighed and said more reassuringly - "We're coming back!"

"Don't worry about us," Gwen replied, "Just go."

"We'll be fine," added Ianto, looking like he was feeling quite the opposite.

"No problem," nodded Toshiko with a smile.

"You'd better be," Jack smiled, and he jammed his finger down on the button.

My stomach lurched suddenly as a force drew my body in - I held my breath and slammed my eyes shut as something wrapped around my waist and jerked me backwards -

I opened my eyes to the night. We were stood in a road, lit only by the streetlamps. I cast around the street - did we make it? My heart leapt - there was the TARDIS - _ Yes! And that's Donna and Jenny!_

A blue light shot out in front of me suddenly from Jack's gun. I turned to him angrily, ready to yell at him for not watching where he was pointing the thing, but he had already dashed off. "Jack?" I called after him - and then I saw her.

Rose. She was running down the road towards us. _What is this?? A vision? Hallucination? Have I finally lost it? She can't be _**_real_**_, that's impossible!_ She ran right past me - _Whoa, that's a big gun! -_ and my eyes followed her. How was she here? And where was she going?!

I saw Jack suddenly, on the other side of the road. He was crouched down at someone's side. Rose knelt down beside him and Donna and Jenny were running over. I shook my head to clear my senses and saw it - what Jack had shot: the destroyed shell of a Dalek. My eyes fell open and I looked back towards the crowd - a flash of red - _the Doctor's converse._ My eyes trailed across, disbelieving, terrified.

The Doctor was lying, still, on the floor.

* * *

A/N: D= Oh noes. Sorry it's short, but I wanted to get the chapter up and don't have time to write anymore right now. More will be up soon though!


	82. The Reunion Of Doom

**Disclaimer: EX-TER-MIN-ATE ALL DIS-CLAI- -is dead-**

A/N: Gahh, it's hard to write action scenes with this many people in... =___= You have NO idea how long it took, with the extra characters, and all the reuniting, and all the explaining, and... bleurgh. D= Anyway, with that and university stuff, sorry it's taken so long... =(  
**WHY WON'T YOU FRUZZING UNDERLINE MY TITLE YOU STUPID PILE OF - **

* * *

**The Reunion Of Doom**

The world seemed to slow down as I ran. I saw Jenny, staring at me in surprise as I sped towards them, and heard Jack's voice as he hurried to lift the Doctor - "Get him into the TARDIS, quick. Move!"

He threw his gun off his shoulder towards me and I caught it, just. He and Rose - I couldn't help my mind as it screamed her name in disbelief - lifted the Doctor and carried him towards the TARDIS. Donna and Jenny ran ahead, opened the doors and hurried inside. I trailed in last, staring around us to check for more signs of Daleks, thinking of anything but the Doctor's lifeless body in Jack's arms...

Suddenly, we were inside the TARDIS. Jack and Rose lay the Doctor onto the metal grating floor just as he started to shake and twist in agony. I thrust the gun onto the ground and hurried over to him, but Jack pushed me back.

"Alli, you know what's coming - stand back."

I bit at my lip but couldn't find the words to object. The impossible Rose was huddled over his writhing body, crying unashamedly.

"Alli, go!" he yelled again.

"Wh-What do we do?" asked Donna helplessly, "There must be some medicine or something!"

"Just step back," ordered Jack, looking to Donna, then down to Rose, "Rose! Do as I say, and get back!" She didn't move, and he knelt down beside her. "He's dying, and you know what happens next."

"What do you mean?" asked Donna worriedly. Jenny was stood at her side, her hands over her mouth, speechless.

"But you can't!" blurted out Rose, speaking to the Doctor's shaking body in between sobs, "Not now, I came all this way!" She looked older, so different. _Not nearly as different as I do though_.

"What do you mean?" repeated Donna frantically, "What happens next?"

I shook my head furiously - _Come on Alli, time to get a grip._ I took Donna's arm and led her back, out of harm's way, towards Jenny. "He's going to regenerate," I explained hurriedly, "Like I did. I've changed, yes?"

"I'll say," whispered Donna.

"Well, he's going to too. But we've got to stay back."

"Is that really you?"

I looked up at Donna, tears threatening to fall, and glanced back at the Doctor and Rose. "Yeah..." I muttered, as the Doctor opened his eyes. He raised a hand in front of his eyes, and it began to glow a faint orange.

"It's starting," he said, his voice shaking. Jack stood up and pulled Rose with him. She saw me suddenly and sprinted over, out of Jack's hands. She grabbed my arms - I could have sang with excitement if I hadn't been so worried.

"Alli? Is that you?" she asked breathlessly. My tears finally spilled over and I grinned, just to have my mother back.

"It's me," I whispered, nodding frantically, half-joyous, half-terrified. In the moment, Rose didn't appear to need any other reassurance - she grabbed me in a bone-crushing hug and spun us around so we were facing the Doctor as he heaved himself up on the console. "Ohh, I'm never lettin' you go again," she breathed, kissing my forehead softly, "Never again..."

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Donna yelled suddenly, "Alli, what d'you mean? What's happening?"

I looked back at her, my arms still wrapped around Rose's waist - I was almost the same height as her now, I realised. "His body's going to change - repair itself," I said, my voice uneven, "He's going to look different... Like I -"

"But you can't!" cried Rose over me in anguish. Jack, beside her, wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. The Doctor pushed himself up further, so he was just leaning on the side of the console.

"I'm sorry," he said weakly, "It's too late. I'm regenerating!" He thrust himself upright as a blaze of fire seemed to burst from his body. I flinched into Rose as the room was thrown into yellow and orange. I stared in awe - never having actually seen a regeneration before - at the energy streams radiating from his body. The colours brought back the memories of my own regeneration and I clenched my eyes shut - was he feeling everything I had felt? The pain, the unbearable feeling of death in his veins?

At my side, Rose gasped. My eyes flew open, just in time to see the Doctor turning towards the console and thrusting his hands forward. The orange streams of energy were thrown forwards and hit a jar beneath the machinery - the Doctor's old hand. I frowned in confusion - _what is he **doing**?_

He was frozen in place for a few seconds, and I stared on, mouth agape, then he stood suddenly and the orange bursts faded away. I blinked as my eyes readjusted to the light and prepared myself for the Doctor's new form -

But he looked exactly the same. _Exactly_ the same. Same head, same hands, same ridiculously big hair. He hadn't changed one bit.

Well that's just not fair.

"Now, then." He sniffed loudly and looked at us with wide eyes. "Where were we?" He grinned before crouching down onto his hands and knees and leaning under the console. He blew out softly onto his glowing hand-in-a-jar, whispering quiet hushes at it. I glanced across at Jack in alarm. _Has he gone crazy?_

"You see?" the Doctor exclaimed suddenly, standing up and grinning, "I used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but as soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to, why would I? Look at me!" He gave a cheeky grin and adjusted his askew tie, "So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle - namely, my hand. My hand, there. My handy spare hand. Remember?" He was talking to Rose now, "Christmas Day? Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand!"

He grinned again, clearly pleased with himself, and looked to Rose for reassurance, "What do you think?"

She edged towards him, braking away from Jack and me, "You're... you're still you?"

"I'm still me," he smiled, his eyes gleaming. There was a moment's pause, and then they were in each other's arms. I laughed with relief and looked across at Jack - he grinned and pulled me into a half-hug at his side. My chest was squirming with excitement as my parents embraced - I could just see the Doctor's beaming face over Rose's shoulder. I hadn't had a family for so long now... It just seemed so unreal. But there she was! There was Rose again, back with the Doctor, right where she belonged. She was finally home.

Hold on - "Wait - How are you here?" I blurted out suddenly. Rose pulled away from the Doctor after a moment and looked across at me, her face suddenly solemn.

"First things first..." she began uneasily, edging back towards me, "Alli... what happened? Why... How?"

My state of ecstasy evaporated. The Doctor walked across as well, and I found myself suddenly somewhere no teenage girl - _wait, how old am I again?_ - wants to be: in front of her parents with no idea how to explain herself.

"Uh - That'd be my fault," Jack said suddenly. My eyes widened in alarm. _What? What's he gonna tell them? _"Guess it's come-clean time." _Seriously, what?!_ "There's something Alli and I haven't told you." _Oh no... no no no no no!! Oh crap, please don't let him tell them, please don't let him tell them!_

"Hold on," Rose interjected. _Phew!_ "How d'you two know each other? An' how are you even 'ere, Jack? I thought you _died_?" Jack and I exchanged glances. "An' who's 'Martha Jones', an' who's this?" she cried finally, pointing towards Jenny. We had a hell of a lot of explaining to do...

"How do you know about Martha?" the Doctor queried curiously -

But right at that second, the power went down.

"They've got us!" he cried, bouncing across to the console, "Power's gone... It's some kind of chronon loop!"

"What?" I shrieked, "What's got us?" _A warning would've been nice!_

The TARDIS gave a huge rock, and started to swing slightly. The Doctor glanced over at the screen. "We're moving," he announced.

"No kidding," I deadpanned, glaring at him.

"Oi, when did you get so sarky?" Rose asked me, her expression one of surprise.

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets," Jack offered, stopping me from answering. "They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination."

The Doctor walked back over, running a hand through his hair nervously, "The Daleks used the subwave to get control of the TARDIS. They're pulling us in."

I swallowed. "How long before we get there?"

The Doctor shrugged, "10 minutes? 15? That's one hell of a power surge."

"Right, just enough time to explain then," Rose said determinedly. Her gun had long been thrown to the ground, and now she stood, hands-on-hips, ready for action - erm... I mean, discussion. "First off: who's this?"

"Right, yes, sorry," said the Doctor, slightly flustered, as he made his way over to Donna and Jenny. "This... This is Donna," he began, indicating Donna, "You met her in the parallel universe." _What the -?_ "And this is Jenny. She's... ah, she's complicated."

"Some people stole a tissue sample from the Doctor and generated a person, that person was Jenny, we had a little adventure, she died, she came back to life, and now she's travelling with Donna and the Doctor," I rambled off quickly. There was no time for awkwardness. _What was that about Donna and a parallel universe?_

"Right. Yes," nodded the Doctor, "And... And the other girl, that was Martha. Martha Jones - she was travelling with me too, before. For a while... But how did you know her name?"

"That computer thing... I found your mum and granddad, Donna," she smiled over at Donna, "And they were helpin' me, and the laptop switched on, and there you all were. How else would I 'ave known you were Alli?" she smiled softly at me.

"Motherly instinct?" I guessed hopefully. It suddenly hit me that I didn't have that connection with her anymore - I didn't even _look _like my mother. I didn't even have my London accent! "Anyway, our turn. How'd you get back?" I queried.

"Shouldn't we be more worried about the whole planets-in-the-sky, transported-to-the-Daleks... thing?" suggested Donna suddenly. _Good point..._ "Doctor, You said these planets were like an engine. But what for?"

The Doctor gave a start, momentarily caught off guard. "Yes! Right!" he nodded with wide eyes, "Um - Rose! You've been in a parallel world -" _No kidding..._ "- That world's running ahead of this universe! You've seen the future; what was it?"

Rose swallowed meekly. "It's the darkness," she muttered.

"The stars were going out," added Donna quietly. _Well, that sounds fun..._

"One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just... dying," Rose explained, "See - I work for Torchwood in the Parallel Universe. And basically, well, we've been building this, um... this travel machine - this uh... Dimension Cannon. So that I could... well, so I could..."

"What?" prompted Doctor, his tongue poking out cheekily.

Rose flashed him a look of shut-up-and-stop-teasing-me-or-I'll-kick-you, "So I could get back," she muttered. Ooh, wrong words. This, if anything, merely fuelled the Doctor's cheeky grin, and he let out a girlish giggle. I looked up at him in alarm. "Shut up...!" Rose added through her teeth, trying to suppress a grin of her own. "Anyway, suddenly, it started to work. And the dimensions started to collapse. Not just in our world - not just in yours - but the whole of reality. Even the Void was dead. Something is... _destroying_ everything."

The Doctor's grin had fallen. "The Daleks. There's nothing we can do."

Rose gave a sad smile. "We've still got 10 minutes before docking, right?" she checked with the Doctor - apparently she wasn't done getting answers. He nodded nervously. "Okay, so, next: Jack."

Jack and the Doctor glanced towards each other. "Well, see, when you thought I was dead back on Satellite Five, it turns out I... wasn't," explained Jack hurriedly, "I transported myself back to Earth, but got there a bit early, and ended up as part of the original Torchwood."

Rose's eyes narrowed at him, "How 'early'?"

Jack swallowed. "Couple... hundred... years?"

Rose let out a slow breath. "You're immortal." Jack nodded. "You're Torchwood." Another nod. "...Couldn't you have stopped It?" Jack hesitated. I didn't need to ask what 'It' was - the Battle of Canary Wharf.

"Well, see, I didn't exactly know about it," he defended himself hastily, "They pretty much kept me in the dark. I wasn't even in command until after the battle; then I set up Torchwood Three in Cardiff, over the Rift."

Rose eyed him suspiciously, but seemed satisfied enough with his explanation. Well, for the time being, at least. She turned to me, then back to Jack. "How d'you know Alli?"

"Ah." _Oh bollocks._

"_Ah_?" Rose fumed - she might not have been the brightest child at school, but she knows how to put two and two together. She turned on the Doctor with folded arms. "Why was Alli with Jack? - Jack, who currently works for _Torchwood_?" she added in a hiss.

"_In charge_ of Torchwood," Jack piped up quietly. I elbowed him in the ribs. The Doctor seemed positively petrified, and Rose looked murderous. _Looks like it's my time to cut in._

"Rose, it really wasn't his fault." I said, swiftly cutting in front of the Doctor. I reconsidered. "Actually, yeah, it was totally his fault." He spluttered behind me. "Well, if you'd've gotten the date right, I wouldn't have been left in 2007!"

"What?!" shrieked Rose, "2007?! But - how? What happened? What did you do? What about Jackie?"

"No - we went back and explained it to her. In 2007 _and_ 2022. And we explained to Sarah Jane in 2007 and in 2022, _and_ the school in 2022, and... yeah..." I trailed off, lost in my own explanation.

"Ah - wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey," the Doctor waved away Rose's confusion, "Point is, it's all sorted out and she found Jack at Torchwood, so no harm -"

I flinched in full expectation of Rose's outburst. And sure enough - "NO HARM DONE?! SHE'S ONLY _BLOODY _GONE AND REGENERATED!"

The Doctor winced. And then, in full Doctor-style, he said probably the worst possible thing he could. "That was Jack's fault."

I swear, if it was possible, Rose would have exploded. Taking this as my cue, I leapt up immediately and grabbed Donna and Jenny by the elbows. "Come on kids, time to go," I yelled, dragging them out of the console room quickly and shutting the door just as Rose burst out. Figuratively, of course. I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled sheepishly at Donna and Jenny's bemused expressions. "Best to - uh - wait out here for a mo..." I said lightly, over the muffled sound of Rose's shouts. "It's the uh, Tyler Rage coming through. Jack's bloody lucky I didn't inherit it."

In the corner of my eye, Donna and Jenny exchanged a rather suspicious-looking glance. I ignored it.

"Are you sure we shouldn't all stay together?" Donna ventured unsurely.

I shrugged, "Go back in if you want, but believe me, it's safer out here."

There was a short silence - save the muffled yells behind the door. "You sure they're all right in there?" Donna asked in concern.

"Oh, yeah!" I reassured her, "They argue all the time - or, well, they used to. It's just how they communicate. She'll slap him in a minute." It wasn't _strictly_ true, but a large portion of my childhood did appear to be made up of moments involving Rose and the Doctor yelling at each other about _something_ - be it about law breaking on a foreign planet, all-too-frequent visits to Jackie, or whose turn it was to unload the dishwasher. "It's all in good humour. No, honestly!" I added, at Jenny's unconvinced expression, "They've just reunited after God knows how many years - they're probably just... catching up."

Donna frowned suddenly. "I can't hear anything," she whispered. I pressed my ear up against the door. Did she kill him?

"Me neither." I opened it a crack, and -

"- COMPLETELY _RECKLESS_, JACK, YOU HAD _NO_ RIGHT -"

I closed it again tentatively and turned back around. Donna and Jenny were staring at me. "...Give it another couple of minutes."

* * *

A/N: Erm... I have a feeling this turned to cracky mess halfway through... O_o Well, you try writing a supposedly 'action' scene with this many characters and explanations, and see how you get on. ¬__¬  
Anywhooooo... Journey's End, anyone?


	83. And So The End Begins,,,

**Disclaimer: I have recently found myself with a love of academy!Era Theta/Koschei. O_o ... I don't own them either. TT_TT**

A/N: Right... so... _-throws update and runs-_ SORRYYYYY! D=  
((A lot of people have been asking who I based Alli's new body on, so I thought I'd post it here - it was kinda a cross between a younger (and gingerer) Shirley Henderson and Sarah Bolger. =D)) Sorry again!  
It still won't underline my title.

* * *

**And So The End Begins...**

"They done yet?" Jenny posed a few minutes later, "We must be landing soon." I opened the door a little and peered through - Rose was no longer shouting, but still appeared to be having a rather tense conversation with the Doctor and Jack.

"Uhh... Couple more minutes," I suggested, as Rose made a throttling gesture at Jack. I shut the door quietly and sighed, "So, what's new on board the TARDIS?"

"Oh, y'know, running and saving species and... running," offered Donna wearily, to a giggle from Jenny.

"She got chased over a frozen lake on Malbarasta," she explained, pointing her thumb at Donna.

"Not funny," Donna warned, glaring at Jenny, "Ran for three miles to get away from that creep."

"Local alien?" I ventured. Jenny snorted.

Donna clenched her teeth and sent a glare at Jenny. "I wish. Nope, the Doctor."

My eyes bulged. "What?!"

"He somehow got himself injected with some kind of alien drug that -"

"Alli? Jenny, Donna?" we heard suddenly from the console room, cutting off Jenny mid-sentence. I swallowed and opened the door.

The Doctor was stood by the screen, his face pale. "The Dalek Crucible," he said quietly, looking across at us as we shuffled in, "All aboard..."

The TARDIS rocked for a moment and landed with a light bump. I looked across at Rose and the Doctor. Neither one of them met my eye.

A voice sounded suddenly outside - cold, metal and lifeless. "DOCTOR! YOU WILL STEP FORTH OR DIE!"

The Doctor looked across at the doors, his mouth falling agape. "We'll have to go out," he said faintly, "'Cause if we don't, they'll just get in."

"You told me nothing could get through those doors!" Rose protested. Jenny, Donna and I hovered by the door. I felt Jenny's hand slip into mine, and gave it a small squeeze.

"You've got extrapolator shielding," Jack added. Their solemn, stern faces gave me shivers down my spine - This really was serious. The end of the world... The end of _us_...

The Doctor looked terrified - I think it was that which scared me the most. "Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids and _mad_. But this is a fully fledged Dalek Empire... at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes. They can do anything. Right now, that wooden door... is just wood."

I swallowed. "What about your Dimension Jump?" Jack was asking.

"It needs another twenty minutes, and anyway, I'm not leaving!" protested Rose.

"What about your teleport?" the Doctor asked Jack.

"Went down with the power-loss," he sighed in reply. The three had always seemed unbeatable to me in their stories - a united front, always fighting for a way out. So why did I feel so utterly hopeless? Like the world would collapse in on us at any second?

"Right then," the Doctor breathed wearily, "All of us together... Yeah?" He looked across at the three of us, stood there in the doorway. I swallowed nervously. He walked over to us in concern, "I'm sorry. Alli, Donna, Jenny. There's nothing we can do."

"No, we know," Donna nodded hastily behind us.

The metal voice continued - "SURRENDER, DOCTOR, AND FACE YOUR DALEK MASTERS! CRUCIBLE ON MAXIMUM ALERT!"

Rose gave a hollow laugh, "So! Daleks!"

Jack let out a breath, "Oh God!"

The Doctor made his way back around the console to the front of the TARDIS. "It's been good though... hasn't it?" he pondered, a reassuring smile hovering on his face, "All of us, all of it? Everything we did...?" His hand was in Rose's now. She nodded. The Doctor's eyes, in the dim light of the TARDIS, were shining. "You were brilliant," he whispered to her, "I... I -"

"I know," Rose nodded, her voice shaking.

"I love you," he said firmly, and it was that moment, for me, that sent the world into chaos. Rose replied in kind, and suddenly it seemed we were saying our goodbyes. I felt my cheek grow damp - how long had I been crying?

"And you were brilliant," the Doctor added, looking up at Jack. "And _you _were brilliant," he smiled to Donna. "And you two..." he smiled sadly down at Jenny and I as we walked over to him, Rose and Jack, "You were brilliant. I love you both."

I felt another tear run down my face as I walked, Jenny's hand still in mine. "Love you too," I replied, attempting and (understandably) failing at a cheery smile, "Doctor, Rose... Jack..."

"Blimey," the Doctor said, turning to face the door, "I guess... this is it."

He opened the door, his other hand still clasped tight with Rose's, and a chorus of voices erupted from outside.

"DALEKS REIGN SUPREME! ALL HAIL THE DALEKS!"

I looked across at Jenny and gave her a reassuring smile. Her expression was strange - different somehow. Determined. _I guess that's the soldier in her,_ I thought fondly, _But everything aside... she doesn't need to worry. The Doctor'll find a way out, won't he? 'Course he will..._ I tried to convince myself, _He always does. I mean, this can't be the end... Right?_

I stepped forward, but found that Jenny wasn't moving with me anymore. Her hand was still in mine, but she wasn't walking with me. If anything, she was pulling me back. "Jenny?" I whispered softly. Rose and the Doctor were outside by now, with Jack on their tail. "Jenny, we've got to go."

She looked across at me, eyes shining with tears, and shook her head. Maybe she was frightened, after all. "Jenny, we can't stay. C'mon, it's safer with the Doctor." The Doctor, who was now stood outside, in the Crucible, with Rose and Jack.

Donna was still stood behind us. I felt her hand on my shoulder, "Come on girls," she said, her voice wavering as she nudged me towards the door.

Jenny looked at me suddenly, right into my eyes, and let out a sob. "I'm sorry!" she cried abruptly, and drew her free hand out of her pocket, holding - _a sonic screwdriver?! Where the Hell did she get that? I had to steal mine from the Doctor!_ Before I could voice my concerns, however, she had extended the nib and pressed down.

"Jenny - what -" The door to the TARDIS slammed shut. I looked across in shock, then back to Jenny. I tore my hand out of hers and sprinted towards the door. She gave a shudder as I pulled away, and fell against Donna. I pulled on the handle, trying to ignore Jenny's cries behind me and the Daleks' chanting outside.

"_Doctor?!_" I yelled out, banging on the door frantically.

"Alli? What're you doing?!" he yelled in from the other side. I pulled at the door again, over and over.

"I'm not _doing _anything!" I yelled back, "It was -" I turned back to Jenny. "_What did you do?!"_ I screamed at her, running back over to where she was stood, bewildered, biting her lip. I looked up to Donna, but she just stared back, gaping.

The Doctor outside was yelling to the Daleks the very same question, "What did you do?!"

"THIS IS NOT OF DALEK ORIGIN!" A voice replied, but the Doctor was having none of it.

"Stop it! Those are my friends, that's my family! Let them out!"

"THIS IS TIME LORD TREACHERY!"

"Jenny, undo it!" I yelled at Jenny, grabbing her arm and dragging her across, "Open the doors, we've got to get out!"

"_Me_?! The door just closed on its own!" the Doctor was protesting from outside. Jenny was cursing quietly to herself, a string of Neovultian insults whispered through the darkness.

"NEVERTHELESS: THE TARDIS IS A WEAPON AND IT WILL BE DESTROYED."

I froze on the spot, Jenny's arm still in my hand.

_What?!_

There was a low rumble beneath us, and suddenly, with no further word of warning, we fell. I gave a yelp as we plummeted downwards, lurching out to grab hold of the console railing. Sparks flew from the mechanism and crashes sounded throughout the ship.

_No no no no no - what's happening?!_

I heard Donna shriek somewhere beside me, "_Doctor_?!"

I cast around and my gaze landed on Jenny, who was clutching a column of coral, looking deep in concentration. "Why did you do that?!" I yelled over at her. She had pulled herself from the coral and leaped over to the console mechanism.

"Alli - _trust me_," she shouted back, pummelling on the console buttons frantically. A series of panels on the ground beside me burst into flame, and I cringed, falling against a column of coral as the TARDIS flung us about.

_Yeah... Somehow I'm not getting that right now..._

The TARDIS stopped falling and started to shudder manically - Jenny wrenched down a lever and fell to the floor as the ship gave one last shake. We were suddenly in silence. I picked myself up from the floor and leaned against the console, staring in shock at my half-sister. The various fires around the TARDIS had begun to die down.

"What happened?" I asked immediately.

"We're out," answered Jenny, "We're in the Vortex."

_Well, that's something, I suppose..._

Ignoring the curses running through my head, I narrowed my eyes. "So, care to explain?!" I asked through clenched teeth.

Jenny stood, panting slightly, and pressed a last button down with her finger - the stabiliser. "Look, Alli," she started, "I'm sorry - It was the only way."

"The only way to do _what_?!" I screeched.

"It's a long story..." she waved away, still breathing heavily, "We were on this planet, and I saw this psychic -"

"You just almost _killed_ us because of a _psychic_?!"

"It's not like that!"

"_Really_? 'Cause it sure as hell _sounds_ like it is!"

"If you'd just _listen_!" she bellowed angrily. I stood there in silence, fuming, as Donna walked back over to us.

"Why, Jenny?" she asked in confusion, "Why did you do that?"

Jenny breathed out slowly, "It was back on Shen-Shen. When you went to see that fortune teller - I was with this other... woman. This... 'psychic'. She told me - she _showed_ me - what was coming. She showed me what I had to do."

I stared expectantly at Jenny, "And _why_ didn't you just tell the Doctor about it?!"

"I knew - I knew that if I told him, he'd try to stop me."

"Well, yeah!" I said, dumbfounded. "There's a _reason_!"

"But you know what he's like - he wouldn't have believed it! Look - I saw Rose coming back, I saw the Daleks, I saw the Crucible, and I saw what's next."

She paused, and I motioned impatiently for her to continue, "_Well?!_"

"It's... It's like Rose said. It's the darkness. Forever. Just... nothing, for all eternity." She hesitated and bit her lip. "Unless we do this."

"Hold up - '_we_'?

Jenny stepped back and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and breathing deeply. "Alli, for this to work, you're gonna have to trust me. You too, Donna. Just trust me - absolutely, unconditionally."

I swallowed, cast a look to the door. No way back...

"So?" she ventured, "Do you trust me?"

I looked across at Donna and back to Jenny. _I guess there's nothing else we **can** do..._ I nodded, "I'm in."

Donna stepped forward, "Me too."

"Right," Jenny aid, stepping across to the control panel and breathing out steadily, "Let's go."

* * *

A/N: Once again, very sorry - I planned to have this finished before the new series, but obviously that's not going to happen. =/ I kinda emigrated to deviantART and got lost there. I will update soon though, promise.

Enjoy series 5 tomorrow!! GYAAAHH!!


	84. Sosostris

**Disclaimer: This chapter is ACTUALLY mine! No episode-lifting here. Just a shame I can't say that for the rest of the 'fic...**

A/N: LONG CHAPTER! Ish. Well, at least it's all original =D  
Before you read, please know that I've had to change A LOT in order to accommodate both Jenny and Alli. So... enjoy!  
Aaaaaand it _still_ won't underline my titles.

* * *

**Sosostris**

Jenny was working at the controls, pulling levers, pushing buttons, slamming switches. She was better at it than I ever was.

"Where is it we're 'going', exactly?" Donna asked, leaning against the stem of coral to my right.

"I told you - we've got to go back to the Psychic."

"But - why?"

Jenny sighed with the air of someone having to explain the same thing over and over, "Look, Sosostris - the Psychic, I mean - she showed me what to do, then told me to bring you to her."

"What?" Donna asked, stepping forward in surprise.

"You and Alli. Look, I thought it was just some freaky game or something, but then... everything that's happened, it happened _exactly_ as she said it would."

"But - why _me_?" Donna persisted.

"Because - Donna, because you're special."

Donna let out a disbelieving laugh, "What? _Me_? Don't be stupid -"

"Donna, she needs you. We all do."

"But - but I'm just a temp! I'm from Chiswick - I'm no one!"

"But you _are_! You _are_ someone - you've saved worlds!" she broke away from the controls and walked towards Donna, "And think about it - you found the Doctor. You _found _the man that so many have searched for, their whole lives, and never seen once. And all those parallel universes, all forming around you - I'm telling you, you're _special_. That's what she showed me - the Psychic. You're the key to all this, Donna."

"Jenny - how do you know we can even trust this 'Sosostris' woman?" I cut in, making my way over.

She hesitated, then reached into her pocket and drew out a silver chain. She brought it up before our eyes - hanging from the chain was a small, silver, slightly dented ring.

"And what's that?"

"Sosostris gave me this. She's bound to the planet by her ancestors, a bloodline bond to her duty. This is a teleportation ring - her only means of escape - to activate after she has fulfilled her duty." I gave her a disbelieving glare, "Look, I know it sounds ridiculous, all magic and prophecies and nonsense, but you'll believe it when you meet her!"

"And what about Rose and the Doctor, and Jack?" I asked impatiently, "We're just gonna leave them, are we?"

Jenny gave me an are-you-stupid glance and moved back over to the controls, "This is a _time _machine," she said slowly, almost mocking me.

I paused, hesitated, and lifted my chin defiantly, "I know..." I muttered defensively, under my breath. _Know-it-all._

"Wait wait wait!" I said suddenly, realisation hitting me, jumping across to stop Jenny at the controls, "We can't leave. We - Torchwood, I mean - got the TARDIS to Earth using the Subwave network. If we go outside the Vortex, we won't be able to get back to the Medusa Cascade."

"But the Subwave's still active, right?" Jenny pondered, stopping momentarily.

"Well... yeah, I guess so. But Torchwood's a bit busy right now - there's no way for them to triangulate the signal towards us."

"But I can track it," she argued. I stared at her, stunned. "On Messaline, every 'child of the machine' was born with the basic ability to utilise the controls of any ship. With the Doctor's help, I've learned how to apply that to the TARDIS. I can lock on to the signal of the Subwave Network and draw us back in. Easy."

I considered, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

I let out a breath, licked my lips, and swallowed, "Then I guess we're going to Shan-Shan..."

Jenny moved back to the controls and started to navigate the ship. I have to admit, she was bloody impressive...

"It's Shen-Shen," Donna corrected me under her breath as she moved past me to stand against a coral piece.

I glared across at her, "Oh, shut up."

The ship landed, perfectly softly, on the ground. _Looks like the Doctor's flying's been outranked._

"We're here."

I looked towards the door, my mind still held on Rose's face, the Doctor's voice, Jack's faked laugh. I swallowed nervously and followed Jenny as she walked across the room and pulled the door open.

"Did it work?" Donna asked as we walked hesitantly towards her, "Are we out?"

Jenny smiled and pulled the doors open wide, looking out onto a busy, bustling, market street outside. I let out a breath of relief and bounded towards the door.

"Right, come on, let's get this over with," I muttered, passing Jenny and stopping just outside. It was instantly humid, with the lingering smell of factories and industry, and bright colours everywhere. You'd almost think it wasn't the end of the world...

"Where do we go now?" I posed to Jenny.

She glanced around as Donna shut and locked the TARDIS door behind us, "Well, I parked us in the same place we were last time, using the TARDIS's log, so if I remember correctly..." She trailed off and walked away to the right. I looked to Donna questioningly and she shrugged. I set off through the street after Jenny, ignoring anyone I had to elbow out of the way to follow her. Brightly coloured stalls lined the outsides of the road, selling jewellery and food and gadgets and any number of alien things, but I focused only on the bob of blonde hair rushing through the crowded streets, determined not to lose her.

After passing a few crossroads, Jenny slowed down, heading for a less crowded alley just off the main street. I cast a look back to Donna, who was right behind me, and . A large red tent was stood a few yards down the street, and Jenny bounded towards it, with Donna and I running in after her. She stopped just outside the tent and glanced back to us.

"Ready?"

I nodded, determined, my mind cooking up all sorts of ideas about this 'Psychic'. An old gypsy fortune teller? A pompous alien prophet? A witch-like woman with crystal ball and Tarot cards?

What I didn't expect was to enter the musky, dim-lit tent to see a girl of no older than 10, sat on a small cushion on the floor, facing the back wall of the tent, her knees curled up to her chest, playing with a loose strand of dark brown hair. She wore what looked like little more than an old pillowcase, or something of the sort.

"Hello?" Jenny asked softly. The girl continued to wrap her hair around her finger, let it fall, pick it up again and twirl it once more, "Sosostris?"

I huffed in annoyance, and hissed to Jenny - "_This _is who you brought us to? Some little girl? She's not even list-"

_"The Children of Time shall unite in their will,  
Deliver the prophecy but wait here until..."  
_

I froze as the hissed rhyme was said, almost silent, but also somehow too loud. I turned to Donna, my eyes wide in disbelief. "What?" I breathed quietly, "Donna, did you just -"

"Yep, I heard it," she replied quickly, her eyes fixed on the girl before us.

"She said that last time, before she showed me the darkness," Jenny whispered at us, her eyes, too, cast over the little girl, "It's her order - to wait here until she's delivered the prophecy. But we all had to be here for her to tell it. _Sosostris_?" she repeated, louder. The little girl froze, her hand still entwined in her hair.

_"The Children of Time shall unite in their will,  
Defeat the darkness and fear not to kill,  
The Three of the Light know that one must to die,  
With the wisdom of old they shall bring back the sky."_

I hesistated, "Well, that was different."

Jenny swallowed, "She didn't say that last time."

I looked across to Donna and threw her a pen and notepad from my pocket, "You're a faster writer - if she says it again, write it down."

"Sosostris?" Jenny repeated, walking closer still to the girl.

She did nothing but repeat the second version of the rhyme, playing with her hair again -

_"The Children of Time shall unite in their will,  
Defeat the darkness and fear not to kill,  
The Three of the Light know that one must to die,  
With the wisdom of old they shall bring back the sky."_

"Oh, Jenny, what does she want?" I asked impatiently, yearning just to get back to the Doctor and Rose and Jack, and get them out of there. Donna, to my right, was scribbling frantically in the notebook.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait, what does she mean - '_one must to **die**_'?!" I started as I realised what the girl was saying.

Ignoring me, Jenny edged cautiously towards the girl, who sat, oblivious, twirling her hair still. "I brought Donna," Jenny said loudly, "Donna and Alli, you said to come here, with them, when the darkness was coming. Well, it's coming now." The little girl said nothing, but twirled her hair still around her finger. Jenny sighed and pulled the ring out of her pocket, "Here's the ring - the ring you gave me last time. _Sosostris!_"

At the final mention of her name, the little girl froze, dropped her hand, and giggled. It was unlike any other noise I've heard - a high, hair-raising laugh that sent a shiver through my skin. She giggled again, but stopped abruptly, and began to shake. Her whole body shuddered uncontrollably and her voice turned to a loud, hoarse shout -

"_The duty is done  
And the war will be won  
And the Borleis will laugh once again in the sun!_"

I yelped in surprise as the unearthly voice sounded in the tent. My mouth fell agape as I looked back to Jenny.

"_Okay_," Jenny said slowly, "That's one's new." She gave a shriek of surprise suddenly and dropped the ring - it was glowing, red hot, on the cracked stone floor. I bent down to inspect it, but it shot immediately into the air towards the girl, who threw her hand out at the last minute. It slid onto her middle finger, still burning a bright red. Her voice returned to its original eerie hiss as she recalled once again the rhyme.

_"The Children of Time shall unite in their will,  
Defeat the darkness and fear not to kill,  
The Three of the Light know that one must to die,  
With the wisdom of old they shall bring back the sky."_

This time, however, no sooner had she finished than her body began to glow, and at last, she turned.

I heard a scream - I don't _think _it was my own - as her body was whipped around to face us, now floating a few inches above her cushion. Her ragged, dirty white dress made her face look only paler, a hollow replica of what it must once have been. I couldn't look away - her eyes were wide and completely white, her lips a dull shade of pink, her skin pulled tight against her bones. Her left arm was still thrust out, the ring glowing white hot on her hand, as her voice began once more as the harsh, hoarse yell -

"_The prophecy must be complete,  
The rhyme forever must repeat,  
The Three of the Light must now defeat  
the bringer of the night!"_

I backed away, terrified, as a harsh white light shone from the ring, encasing the girl in a sudden glow. I pulled Jenny and Donna away by their arms, eyes transfixed by the girl. She threw her head back and laughed again, sending shivers down my spine, and then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone...

I blinked a few times, my eyes readjusting to the once again barely-lit tent. I looked to Jenny nervously, and to Donna, who was staring, aghast, at the cushion on the floor. Outside, the sound of voices were approaching outside, along with the slapping on feet on the ground and frenzied yells and cries. My eyes widened and I ran to the opening of the tent, still pulling Jenny and Donna with me.

"TARDIS, NOW!" I yelled, pushing them out of the tent before me.

I followed, not focusing on the way at all, as Jenny sprinted the way back to the TARDIS. We rushed through the crowds, away from the tent and the furious yells of the natives and tourists, and stopped only when we were once more safe inside the ship.

I collapsed into the captain's chair as soon as I burst in, letting my head fall in my hands as my mind raced. Donna was leaning against the console with the notepad still in her hands, breathing heavily to catching her breath back, and Jenny was already working at the controls to get us back into the Vortex, panting furiously.

As soon as the ship was stabilised, she fell into the chair beside me, drawing a hand across her forehead.

After what could have been hours, Donna found the strength to speak.

"'The Children of Time shall unite in their will,'" she read off her notepad, walking over to join us and holding the pad out for us to see, "'Defeat the darkness, and fear not to kill. The Three of the Light know that one must to die. With the wisdom of old, they shall bring back the sky.'"

I nodded across at her, fully taking in the rhyme for the first time. "The 'Three of the Light'? Who's that then?"

"Well," Jenny started slowly, calculating the answer in her head first, "I should think, what with 'wisdom of old', that'd be the Doctor, Jack... and Rose."

"S'pose you're right, yeah," I agreed, "'Children of time', too - Time Lord, Time Agent and... well, Time Lord's wife. But hold up - what was that about 'one must die'?" That better not be Rose."

"What about dad, and Jack?" asked Jenny indignantly.

"Well, the Doctor can regenerate, can't he?" I said defensively, "And Jack's immortal. Rose... we've never been sure about, but I'd rather not take my chances."

"I guess... 'Bring back the sky' - that must mean getting the planets back to where they belong," Donna said after a moment, "That's the prophecy, then. The Doctor, Rose, and Jack - they're going to get the planets back."

No one spoke for a moment, each of us thinking through the prophecy. I could just remember the look on Sosostris's face as she glowed in the tent - an childish malevolence in her empty eyes, her skin as pale as snow.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Donna asked suddenly, "Go and tell the Doctor that he's gotta save the world? _Again_?"

I grimaced, "Well, we can't just go back to the crucible and say 'Hey dad, guess what, you've gotta save the world again', can we? The Daleks'll kill us stone dead, for starters."

"She didn't really tell us what to _do_, though, did she?"

"Well, we'll just have to work it out for ourselves, won't we?" I said, giving a false smile and bounding up to the console. My stomach churned - _What **are** we going to do? How can we **possibly** save the universe?_ I made my way around the console, staring around at the mechanism as if it would give me the answer, _Doctor, what would **you **do?_

I kicked out at something in frustration, and winced as the pain ran through my foot. The item - whatever I had just kicked - fell over, and crashed. My eyes widened in alarm as I heard glass shatter, and I peered down to see what it was I had just broken.

I stared at it for a few seconds, then my mouth stretched into a grin. I reached for the severed hand that was now writhing on the floor in a liquid that definitely wasn't water, avoiding the broken glass around it. _Got it_. I stood, triumphant, to face Donna and Jenny, the Doctor's hand resting in my palm.

They both cringed as they saw the hand that wasn't mine, and I could have laughed. "Jenny, go to the Doctor's storeroom and get me anything with a power server. And wires, lot's of wires. Donna... Hold the hand." I held the Doctor's hand out, which she took with a grimace, and bounded from the room after Jenny.

_It's time to save the world._

* * *

A/N: Did I seriously just name my Psychic 'Sosostris'? =___= Looks like my English Lit is finally getting through to me...


	85. The Plan Forms

**Disclaimer: I don't own a ton of crap now. T_T My computer is evil.**

A/N: I'm terrible, I know. Explanation on my PP (kinda).  
Prepare yourself for Technobabble.

* * *

**The Plan Forms**

I next entered the console room to find Donna casting suspicious glances at the Doctor's old hand, which was now laying on the mechanism, and Jenny stood wearily with a bundle of devices, and what looked like every spare wire on board the TARDIS.

"So, you gonna tell us this brilliant plan of yours, then?" she grinned as I bounded in, clutching an old, orb-like sensory power capsule scavenged from some spacecraft long ago. I placed it on the console next to the severed hand, and grabbed several wires from Jenny's arms.

"We're gonna build a gun," I stated confidently, fixing the Doctor's hand to the orb with the wires. The small, transparent sphere fizzed slightly, and the smell of burning rubber filled my nostrils, but I waved it away and moved across to the power devices. "Well, not a gun, but... for argument's sake, we'll call it a gun. But it isn't going to kill. Not directly, anyway."

"Well, what's the point in a gun that doesn't kill?" Jenny asked blankly. I cringed at the idea of what the Doctor would think of that question, and concentrated instead on stopping the Doctor's hand from exploding.

I turned to Jenny and Donna and ran through my plan in my head, "The Doctor and Rose told me once about this slave species - the Ood. They communicated through a wavelength called 'Basic 5'. When they turned on the crew of the ship - including the Doctor and Rose - they sent a kind of virus through the wavelength - frazzled the Ood's minds."

"What?" exclaimed Donna, "But the Doctor wouldn't do that - we met the Ood, they were lovely!"

"Well, until they started going rabid," Jenny added.

I gaped momentarily but decided there wasn't time to ask. "The Daleks are metal, right? They're robots. Droids. Mechanisms. Whatever you like - the actual _living_ part of a Dalek can't survive without being fused to the casing That's how it lives, breathes, talks - whatever."

"So... how does the gun get rid of a Dalek's casing?" Jenny asked, looking lost.

"No no no, we're not going to get _rid_ of the casing," I explained, starting to separate the wires and examine the devices Jenny had found, "We're going to disrupt the frequency platform they use to function." I rifled through the alien 'electrical' items on the captain's chair. _Hair trimmer, electric key - don't even want to **know** what that one is - blender, hairdryer... oooh! Zargon teleporter!_ I grinned to myself and bounded over to the console, connecting the teleporter to the orb - we needed as much power as possible inside it.

"Hold on," Donna stepped forward the lean across the console, "So we use this 'gun' to disrupt the... oh, y'know, the Dalek frequency thing. What happens then?"

I crossed my fingers and slammed my fist down on the teleporter's power button. To my relief, it did not teleport, but instead remained perfectly stationary on the console, its power slowly draining away into the orb. _It works!_

"Well, the Doctor told me another story too. Well, sort of. Rose destroyed the Daleks before, only they don't stay dead for long. But last time, she was kinda... _possessed_ by the Heart of the TARDIS." I paused to let the others understand before I continued. _See, not too shabby a plan for a half-human, eh?_

"Well, I'm not volunteerin'," Donna snorted.

"No, no, I'm not saying one of _us_ needs to be possessed, but if we had access to whatever power's inside the TARDIS, we could use that in the non-gun to destroy the Daleks like she did, surely."

"But there's gotta be millions of Daleks - we're not going to be able to go round just _shooting_ them all," Jenny argued.

"And how are we getting the TARDIS's power, anyway?" Donna asked.

"We won't _have_ to go around shooting them all," I explained, "That's the beauty of it. Get the disruption inside the Dalek ship's controls, and we can transmit it through _all_ the ships. All the Daleks get destroyed. And as for getting hold of the power inside the TARDIS..." I held up the Doctor's hand and waved it, grinning, "Anything Gallifreyan should do. Something about Huon particles and a certain radiation - and the Doctor's hand, fully charged with the energy from his not-quite-Regeneration, is perfect! And all that energy will be stored..." I picked up the orb capsule from the console, careful not to disrupt the energy flow as I examined the swirls of golden energy inside, "In here! This, this little capsule, is going to be our non-gun. We'll need a Dalek's template form - and I'm working on that - then we just distort it, transmit the new code out over the Dalek's mainframe system, or whatever controls them, and BOOM. Frequency gets frazzled. Dead Daleks."

Jenny grinned in excitement, and I felt a shiver run down my spine - _is she ever **not** a soldier? I mean, I'm not exactly fond of the Daleks, but still..._

"So... We get back to the Dalek ship, get some Dalek DNA, find the 'mainframe', scan in the virus-y thing, and that's it?" she practically bounced.

"_That's it_?" Donna asked incredulously, "Assuming by some miracle we get out of the TARDIS without gettin' _killed_, we've then gotta free the Doctor, Jack and Rose, _without gettin' killed_, get hold of 'Dalek DNA', ___without gettin' killed, _find some control-frame-panel thing and destroy it with this thing, ___without gettin' killed_, _and _get out of there with everyone _after _we've exploded the ship. _Without gettin' killed_!"

I hesitated. Damn. I started to reason with myself, trying to find answers to all the problems, while examining the other items Jenny had found and linking more up to the orb to drain the energy.

"Look, we don't have any other choice," I sighed finally, looking up from the heap of wires before me. I deflated a little, now that all the flaws of my plan had been pointed out. "And - well, we'll have a couple of seconds once we're out of the TARDIS. And we'll land back where we were taken before, which'll probably be the main base, so the mainframe controls will be nearby. And... And - look, _I don't know_! Okay, I just... I just don't know, but we've _got _to try."

"Anyway," Jenny cut in with a grin, "According to Sosostris, the three people in the prophecy are going to destroy the Daleks. Well, we decided that was dad, Jack and Rose, right? So if she's right, chances are we won't need to use the plan after all."

I grimaced, "Yeah, well... I'm still not keen on that prophecy - particularly not the death part - so let's have a back-up just in case she's wrong, yeah?" I looked down at the pile of wires. The orb was smoking again. I cursed loudly and rushed to remove all the wires.

"What's wrong?" asked Jenny, worried.

"Overheating," I said with a grimace, blowing gently on the orb - as if that would help. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. But we're gonna have to hurry. We need more energy in this thing."

We got to work immediately, draining power from various energy sources we found around the TARDIS - and the regeneration energy from the Doctor's hand - into the sensory orb capsule.

When the 'non-gun' was finally complete, I disconnected the orb from the TARDIS and held it up. I almost dropped it, but caught myself just in time - somehow the energy particles had made it twice as heavy. It was now fully functional - though I doubt it was ever meant to be used like this - with the sensors working perfectly (or near enough) and the connection wires dangling from the shell. The bright golden glow of Huon particles inside was almost mesmerising.

"Right," I said, holding it up before Jenny and Donna, steeped in determination, "Here's the plan."

Jenny grinned up at me, and even Donna managed a small smile.

"This is our gun."

"Doesn't look much like a -"

"That's because it's not a gun," I cut over her impatiently, "Its... its our non-gun. Jenny, you're going to land the TARDIS inside the Dalek ship, where we were last time. Then, you're going to take this orb, and run out of the TARDIS." I ignored the look on her face as I revealed this part of the plan. "You're going to leg it over to the Doctor and Rose - but bear in mind they'll probably be guarded - and accidentally-on-purpose run _this_ main sensor -" I indicated a flat, glowing panel on the orb, "- over a Dalek's outer shell. But don't touch the sensor yourself, or you'll fuse your own DNA to the links and ruin the plan."

"Right..." Jenny said, not impressed, "_All _I have to do is run out, find a Dalek, and run the sensor across its casing."

Donna stepped forward, "Sorry, but is that really such a good idea?"

"Well, it's the only idea we've got!" I retorted angrily, turning to Jenny when she went to interrupt, "What else do we have, Jenny? What else could we _possibly_ do?!" She didn't answer. I looked to Donna, but she turned away. "Jenny, I wouldn't ask you to do this if there was any other way. But they _need_ us, Jenny. The Doctor needs us."

She hesitated, detached the wire from the orbs, and took the lighter orb, careful to avoid touching the glowing sensor panel. "Right. Of course. I'm a soldier. It's my duty."

I nodded weakly. "So, you take the orb and run it over a Dalek. The sensor will extract and copy a small amount of what we might call 'DNA' - or the structure template - from whatever you hold it to._"_

"Is it gonna work though?" Donna asked nervously, "I mean, it's brilliant and all, but it's a bit... Blue Peter. _Makeshift_," she added, at seeing Jenny's frown of confusion.

"It should do," I nodded, "It's not all that powerful, despite all the regeneration energy, but we only need a small copy of the Daleks' cell structure and we're set."

"So, how does the rest of the plan work, then?" Jenny asked.

"Right, well, while you're collecting the sample - and providing a bit of a distraction - me and Donna are going to head for the control centre. The Daleks would have pulled the TARDIS to the main hub of the ship, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. Once we get there, you'll have to throw us that orb, and I'll link it up to the controls - that shouldn't be too hard, I can probably just use the vector-cortex calibrator - and distort the wavelength, just enough to play havoc with the Daleks. I'll transmit the cell template through the non-gun, into the controls, and fuse it with the distorted wavelength. Then, I'll transmit the frequency out across the ships through the hypoentropic ventulator. Their template stabiliser will deteriorate, leaving them pretty much useless." Donna and Jenny looked back at me blankly.

Jenny rolled her eyes, "So,_ basically,_ you're going to destory whatever it is that holds the Daleks' structure together. They'll be unable to function."

I blinked stupidly for a moment, "That's basically what I just said."

Donna snorted, "You're soundin' more like your dad every day."

I felt my cheeks flush - though with pride or embarrassment, I wasn't sure. "Okay, so when we've done that, the Daleks will be out of action - at least for a minute or so. Then we can get the Doctor, Jack and Rose to safety and tell them about this stupid prophecy thing. They can sort out the Daleks, and everything will go back to normal." _And I'll get to see Rose again_, I added silently, mentally grinning at the prospect.

"Right then! Are we ready?" Jenny asked, smiling - though this time, I could tell she was faking it.

I gave her a smile back for the sake of it, though I felt as if I was about to throw up. "Yep," I said, trying to sound confident and cringing at the meek voice that I heard from myself, "Let's do this. Ready Donna?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I s'pose."

"Good luck, everyone," Jenny said, reaching over to release the brakes. She paused. "If anything happens -"

"Nothing's gonna happen," I cut her off immediately. _I won't let it. I'd never forgive myself._

She paused, then smiled. "No, you're right. I feel lucky today." She gave one last, manic grin, and set the TARDIS spinning out of the vortex.

Here we go.

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A/N: OH MERLIN HOW AWESOME IS SERIES FIVE?! O____________________O It's rivalling series two in its epicness. That's how awesome it is. Next week's looks so amazing...

Do I deserve a review? =S


	86. Back To Reality

**Disclaimer: I stole the rights last night. OH WAIT... no, that was a dream.

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**

**Back To Reality**

I grabbed hold of the console as we were flung about in the TARDIS, Jenny working furiously to get us through the Vortex.

"Alli, press that blue button, there," she told me, fiddling with levers and switches as she spoke. I cast around, found the blue button, and slammed my fist down on it - then I was promptly thrown across the room.

"Do you know what you're doing?" I yelled over to her, pulling myself back onto my feet and grabbing onto a stem of coral.

"'Course I do!" she shouted back, pulling down a lever and whacking a flashing light with her fist, "Kind of!"

Very reassuring. Thank you, Jenny.

But after a few seconds, it appeared we were ready.

"We're back in the time lock. I just press this button -" her hand hovered over a small yellow switch, "- and we'll be back in the Crucible." She swallowed nervously.

"Right," I said, my mouth dry, "All know the plan?" My mind was suddenly racing - _what on Earth are we playing at - we're gonna get **killed**!_

"Take the orb, scan a Dalek, throw it to you," Jenny recited.

"I'm going to be by the controls," I said, "and I'll distort the coding of the scan, then connect the orb to the Dalek ship and transmit the new frequency."

"And I follow you to the controls and help destabilise the Daleks," Donna nodded, "But Alli - I'm not gonna have a clue what to do!"

"You'll be fine," I reassured her, "Trust me. Just do what I say. I've worked with millions of pieces of alien tech; I know what I'm doing." _I hope..._ "Donna, you can do this. I know you can."

"While the Daleks are out of action, we can deactivate the holding cells and get Rose, Jack and the Doctor out of there. Or at least free enough so they can sort out this mess."

We all paused, none of us wanting to say the words to take us down.

"If we don't go, they'll only pull us down," Jenny told us, but her hand still hovered over the button, "They've gotta work out we're here soon."

"Then best we go now," I said, nodding, "While we've still got the element of surprise." She still didn't press the button.

"D'you think they think we're dead?" she asked after a moment, her voice almost trembling. I felt my hearts flutter, one moment of weakness. I stepped forward, away from the coral, and to Jenny's side.

"We can do this, Jenny," I whispered softly, touching her hand gently, "We can."

I counted to three slowly in my head, then pressed Jenny's hand down on the button. The ship didn't seem to rock so much as it usually did - or perhaps I was too caught up in myself that I didn't notice, blinded by the thumping of my hearts against my ribcage, the tremors running through my bones, the screams of fear in my mind.

I cast a quick look to the screen, "Here are the controls," I pointed out hastily to Donna, who was now at my side, "We need to get there."

"Look - there's Rose and dad," said Jenny, "And who're all of them?"

I saw who she meant - a number of other figures were on the screen, but I waved it away urgently, "You need to head towards Rose and the Doctor."

It's now or never.

The desperation of the moment hit me. I was suddenly at the door, Jenny's hand in mine, Donna just beside me.

"Go, Jenny," I urged her, squeezing her hand gently, "You can do this."

She looked to me, and nodded. I let her hand slip from mine and swallowed my nerves, "Good luck."

And then the door was open, and she was gone. I looked the Donna - "Come on."

And we were out; running out from the TARDIS, sprinting towards the control panel we had seen on the monitor, no time to look around, no time to explain. Taken by surprise, the Daleks were not shooting... yet. I cast my eyes over the alien controls, ignoring the yells of Rose and the Doctor, and the unexpected figures of _everyone_ - Jackie, Mickey, Jack, Sarah Jane, Martha! - in the station. I blocked out the commotion around me; the Daleks were deciding whether to imprison or shoot.

"Over here!" Donna suddenly yelled from my side, and I was brought back to reality as the orb zoomed towards me from Jenny. I yelped, taken completely by surprise in the moment, and the orb shot through my open fingers to the floor. I swore loudly and dived to retrieve it - this was _not_ accounted for in the plan! - and it was rolling away, rolling, still rolling, and - a-ha! I grabbed it, stood up and rushed back to the controls, but before I could do anything more, my hearts jumped and I froze on the spot, staring straight ahead at Jenny. Jenny - who was falling to the ground, clutching at her stomach.

"Alli," Donna said in my ear, her voice ringing, "Alli, c'mon, we've gotta do this." Louder and louder and louder and - "_Now, Alli!"_

I pulled my eyes away and shoved the wires into the console, my mind yelling frantic instructions to me over the sudden noise in the room. My fingers shook, but I located the frequency output and plugged it to the template from the orb. I tapped in a random code to distort the wavelength, and turned to Donna, focusing only on her and not the screams around me. "Find the inputs for G46 and ZN5," I told her, and she nodded and started to look through the buttons and levers. I tapped frantically on the controls, routing power to the transmitter so we could send out the virus. "Set them to negative - just flick the switches down!"

"Done!" Donna shouted across to me, and I slammed my fist down on the transmission switch. I stumbled backwards, praying, hoping, wishing and screaming, and suddenly, the ship went dark. My blood froze in my veins. Silence feel across the station. _Please work... Please, oh please..._

A dim, yellow light was cast across the ship, flickering and buzzing loudly. Rose was running towards me out of the light, and the Doctor was dashing across to Jenny, and I felt my heart leap and fall simultaneously.

_We did it! The cells are deactivated!_ Rose shot past me, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from the controls towards the TARDIS. Jack was bounding towards us, and Sarah Jane and Martha and Mickey and Jackie...

_Jenny..._ She lay there, on the floor, in the Doctor's arms, just as she had done before... I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling as if I would throw up at any second.

"Everyone into the TARDIS!" Jack yelled, and Jackie, Mickey and Sarah Jane all rushed in, pushed ahead by Rose, who held the door open as Jack ran back to the Doctor and Jenny. The Daleks' weapons were useless for the moment, but I knew it wouldn't last long - the virus would be rectified soon. Of course, it wasn't supposed to have lasted longer - it was only meant to buy the Doctor time to get out. And it had done that much, I guess. _But at what cost?_

"Alli, Donna - get into the TARDIS!" Rose cried, ushering us towards her.

I cast a look back to Jenny, hanging limp as the Doctor and Jack carried her towards the TARDIS at a run. The Daleks were realising what we'd done - their weapons would soon reactivate. Donna was pulling at my arm, yelling at me to go with her, back to the TARDIS, back to safety, back to Rose...

And then, as I watched, so helpless, the orb still plugged into the machine a few feet in front of me, it all became so clear. It hit me, a dull thud in my mind as everything _clicked_.

The three of them - Rose, Jack and the Doctor. _It was never about them._ Sosostris, the prophecy, _everything_.

_"The Children of Time shall unite in their will,  
Defeat the darkness and fear not to kill,  
The Three of the Light know that one must to die,  
With the wisdom of old they shall bring back the sky."_

"Oh my God..." I breathed, inaudible amidst the chaos erupting around me, as I realised - "It's _us_. Oh my God - Donna, it's _us_!"

Donna looked at me, bewildered_,_ "_What?_"

"_It's us!_" I repeated, "The Children of Time, it's the three of us! COME ON!" I grabbed her arm and tugged her back towards the controls. Rose was screaming in the background, the Daleks were shouting, but their weapons were still inactive. Seconds left until they were back.

"Alli, what the hell are you doing?" Donna bellowed at me.

"Jenny's _dying _- she's the one from the prophecy," I explained urgently, looking over the controls and hoping for an idea to hit me, "We're the Children of Time; we're the only ones who can stop this, Donna!"

"But _how_?" she cried, "What do you _mean_? What're you gonna do?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I yelled back, my throat burning. I looked back down at the controls - and then I saw it. _Z-Nutrino energy loops._ "They run off Z-Nutrino energy..." I realised aloud. I swallowed, licked my lips, and looked across the controls. _Come on Alli, you can do this!_ A panel to my left burst into flames suddenly - I shrieked and turned around - the Daleks' weapons were reactivating. _Shit!_

I cast my eyes along the top row of controls, reached out and flicked a switch. The feedback reversal loop. More lasers fired. _Well, at least their aim seems to have been put off by the virus._ I reached down and pulled out a piece of wiring, then pushed the trip-switch off circuit. "Daleks deactivated," I told Donna, my heart suddenly pounding again. And sure enough, the cries of 'EXTERMINATE' had been replaced with metallic orders to step away from the controls - but there were no more lasers to accompany them.

"Alli, you did it!" Donna cried with a laugh, but I was far from smiling.

"It's not over yet," I warned her, flicking another trip-switch to hold the loop. "Get the others out of the TARDIS, would you?"

She bounded away, edging with just a little caution past a deactivated Dalek. I scanned across the controls again and found what I was looking for - the K-Filter. I jammed it upwards, held it there and kicked a bunch of levers down the bottom of the console. I reached across to the transmission section of the controls, but couldn't reach it without letting go of the filter switch. "Donna - turn on the transmitter!" I shouted as she ran back across, pushing a Dalek out of her way as it shouted useless orders for us to stop.

"The what?" She asked, pulling a face.

"The transmitter!" I repeated, still pushing up the filter, pointing to the switch, "The big square one!"

She pushed it up, and the filter pushed back against my hands. I grabbed hold on the console to keep it in place, and after a moment, the force subsided. I kicked a stabiliser boost for good measure.

"I've transmitted a new wavelength," I explained to the entourage appearing from the TARDIS - Jack and the Doctor were still inside with Jenny, I noted, "A filter blocking Dalek weaponry and electromagnetism. They can't shoot and they can't move - or at least, not willingly."

"Alli, how d'you know how to do that?" Rose asked, alarmed.

"Hey, I've been working with alien tech for almost two years now, under one of the most _brilliant_ minds in the human race. I'm not totally stupid, give me some credit."

"What was that about brilliant minds?" Jack asked, jogging out of the TARDIS to meet the group and kicking a Dalek out of his way.

"Actually, I was talking about Tosh, and is Jenny okay?" I asked in a rush.

He showed no sign of a smile or frown, "The Doc's in there with her."

My hearts pounded - _the prophecy said..._ NO! I shook the thought from my head and tried to bid my worries about Jenny away. "Right, that filter should hold them, but I don't know how long for - I don't know how clever they are. Jack, Donna, Rose - give me a hand would you?" I turned back to the controls, studying them once more, pushing Jenny from my mind.

"Give you a hand to do what?" questioned Donna.

I turned back to face them and grinned half-heartedly, "We've got 27 planets to send home."

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A/N: Apologies for lateness - I can barely remember the past few weeks, they've been so hectic. Already working on the final chapters though - almost at the finale now!


	87. The Only Way

**Disclaimer: Not miiiiiiine.**

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**The Only Way**

"So, what d'you need us for?" Mickey asked, stepping forward, "Donna said you wanted us - why?"

I turned to look up at the man in the wheelchair - although now I was seeing him properly, was he a man at all? "Him," I said, pointing up at him. Mickey turned his gun on the man instantly. "He's not Dalek. The template won't work on him. His weapon's been disabled, yes - but he can still move, and talk, and function. Keep an eye on him."

"Gotcha," Mickey said, walking towards the _thing_, the gun still trained on him.

"The rest of you, keep the Daleks out of the way."

"I thought they couldn't do anything?" Rose asked, frowning.

"They can't," I shrugged, "They're just bloody annoying."

She half-laughed and half-sighed, and pulled me into a hug, "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, then pulled back, still holding onto my arms, "Now c'mon, let's sort out these planets and get out of here."

"Right!" I bounded over to the controls and located the magnetron panel. "Activating magnetron," I reported as Jack and Rose positioned themselves on the other side of the machinery.

"Stop it at once!" the wheelchair-bound man spoke out as I worked at the console. "You will desist!"

"Yeah, yeah, you just stay where you are, mister," Mickey said dryly, cocking the gun down at him.

"Right, d'you see two long rods sticking out of the controls?" I called over to Jack and Rose, grabbing the handles of the two rods on my side.

"Yep," Jack said, and Rose nodded her confirmation.

"We need to pull them all out simultaneously," I explained, "It'll cut out the magnetron and release the electromagnetic field holding the planets in place."

"Right then, on three?" Rose suggested, taking hold of one rod while Jack took the other.

"One, two, THREE!" he yelled, and I dragged the heavy, metal rods out of position at the console.

"It's working!" Donna exclaimed happily, stood at the holographic screen displaying the planets in the sky. I continued pulling at the rods as she observed, "Off you go, Clom!"

"Back home, Adipose Three!" Jack yelled, glancing over Donna's shoulder at the screen. He flicked a few switches as he pulled at his rod, still reading from the screen, "Shallacatop! Pyrovillia!"

"The Lost Moon of Poosh!" Donna grinned, Topping! Ha!"

I grinned madly as she laughed, flicking switches to disable particular areas of the magnetised field. "We need more power," I announced, studying the controls, "I don't know if we'll have enough for them all."

A voice came over the intercom suddenly, loud and so very _Dalek _- "I will descend to the Vault!"

"Heads up!" Jack yelled, moving away from the controls and picking his gun off the floor. Rose took over his rod as we worked furiously to send the rest of the planets back. _Only eleven to go... ten... nine..._

An area at the back of the Vault flickered blue, and a huge Dalek appeared - which I could only assume to be King of the Daleks, or something.

"Davros, you have betrayed us," the thing spoke, his voice deeper and more threatening than the other Daleks.

"It was Dalek Caan!" denied the man in the wheelchair, whom I presumed was Davros, "He betrayed our plan."

"The Vault will be purged!" the Dalek King spoke over him, "You will all be exterminated!"

He wheeled around to face the controls, and blasted the central column. I shrieked as sparks flew from the controls. _Oh crap, and we were losing power before... __Come on, only four planets left!_

"Why isn't his weapon blocked?" Rose yelled across at me, both of us still pulling at the rods. _Three to go..._

"I don't know; he must just have more power!" I replied, "His defences should still be down though, Jack!" _Two..._

Jack turned and cocked his gun at the Dalek. "Like I was saying, feel this!" he yelled, and blasted the Dalek in half._ Just one left!_

I looked back at the column, which was now spluttering and flickering as the energy drained. "Shit, we've lost the magnetron!" I shouted as the rods deactivated fully. "And there's only one planet left - oh..." I glanced over to the screen and laughed bitterly as I saw the Earth on the screen, "And guess which one!"

"We can use the TARDIS!" Jack yelled, and he dropped the gun and legged it into the TARDIS - where, I remembered with a pang of guilt and unease, the Doctor and Jenny were still waiting inside.

I flicked switches along the mechanism to hold the magnetron in place - the energy leaking from the column that King-Dalek had blasted was draining its power rapidly. "Holding Earth stability," I reported to Rose, "and maintaining atmospheric shell."

"The prophecy must complete," a Dalek spoke suddenly, his voice high, hollow and disconcerting. I hadn't noticed it before and looked over in surprise - it stood at the very back of the room, its outer shell open, the squid-like insides glowing in the dim light of the Vault.

"Don't listen to him," Davros spoke weakly.

"What's he talking about?" Rose asked nervously, "What prophecy - Alli?"

"I don't know!" I said, panicking, "Unless - unless he means..." I glanced over to Donna, "You don't think he knows, do you?"

She shrugged, eyes wide with worry, "I dunno, Alli. Maybe he does. I s'pose he must do - but how?"

"I have seen the end of everything Dalek, and you must make it happen," the Dalek said, his voice deranged, almost song-like, sending shivers down my spine and standing my hairs on end. "The Children of Time must end it all!"

I felt my hearts skip a beat. _It can't be..._

_"The Children of Time shall unite in their will,  
Defeat the darkness and fear not to kill,  
The Three of the Light know that one must to die,  
With the wisdom of old they shall bring back the sky."_

_**"Fear not to kill..."**_

"He means us..." I realised aloud, as the weight of the Dalek's words fell on me. "Oh my God, he's right. With or without the Reality Bomb, this Dalek Empire's big enough to start a war against the galaxy..."

"Alli, what d'you mean?" Rose said nervously, "What're you talking about?"

"They've got to be stopped!" I yelled, flicking switches and buttons and levers. _Re-route all the power into the main console and it'll blow up the ship along with the Daleks,_ I thought to myself, _As long as we get out in time, we can relay the field back to the rest of the fleet. We can't use the magnetron now anyway. This is it... I've heard about them so many times - this is the only way to stop them. It has to be done._

"Alli, just-just wait for the Doctor," Donna said nervously,

I froze for a moment, looked to her, then across to the TARDIS, where the Doctor must be saving Jenny. "We can't. Wait any longer and we'll lose the power. It's gotta be now, Donna. It's got to be us." I pushed the rods on my side back into the console, "Maximising power feeds. Blasting them BACK!"

The Daleks in the Vault began to explode. Rose looked across at me, alarmed, "Alli, stop it! Just stop this!" The fear in her eyes almost made me reconsider - what was she scared of? _Me_? Her own _daughter_?" I flicked my gaze from Rose to Jack, who stared at me stonily, his eyes shallow and unreadable. I swallowed, and pressed on with the controls.

She ran around to my side and started pulling at my arms, "Alli, _stop it_!" she screamed at me as I struggled wildly, pushing at random buttons to confuse the system, "_You can't **do** this, just stop it!_"

The TARDIS doors flew open and the Doctor rushed out, his face pale, his expression one of shock. He stared across at the scene before him - Jack and Mickey standing with guns pointing at Davros and the other Dalek, Rose pulling me away from the controls, me struggling insanely in her arms, Donna watching in shock at the commotion, Martha and Sarah Jane just staring on in the sidelines, and Daleks exploding left right and centre - and recoiled in horror. "Alli, what are you _doing_?" he yelled over the sound of exploding panels and Daleks.

The disappointment and terror in his voice rendered me almost speechless, "I'm fulfilling the prophecy!" I yelled out, taking advantage of Rose's momentary distraction to wrench myself free and dash round the other side of the controls. I pushed the other two rods back in before she could catch up with me.

The Doctor stood motionless, aghast, "Do you know what you've done?" he shouted at me, as Rose grabbed my arm and pulled me away again. I didn't bother struggling - it was done. "Just get into the TARDIS!" he bellowed furiously. "Everyone!"

Rose dragged me across the Vault and into the TARDIS, Donna just behind us and Martha and Sarah Jane following obediently.

"All of you, inside! Run!" the Doctor yelled as he left the doors, running across to the controls in an attempt to undo my work. I just saw Mickey and Jack bounding over before Rose pulled me in and pushed me across to safety. I just saw a glimpse of Jenny, round the other side of the console, before I realised Rose was crying.

"Rose?" I asked in a whisper, my hearts not yet catching up with me in the sudden calm on board the TARDIS, "Rose, what is it?"

She looked down at me, teartracks marked in her make-up, biting her lip anxiously, and pulled me into her body, almost crushing me against her. She whispered words into my hair, words I couldn't hear, but I could tell that something was wrong. That _I_ had done wrong...

But it was too late. What's done was done, and this was the only way. It was this, or war.

I heard the Doctor, outside the TARDIS doors, yelling to Davros on the exploding ship. We had seconds before it all went up in flames. I pulled away from Rose and rushed to the door, but Jack stopped me from going outside, holding me back wordlessly. I squinted against the light of the fires braking out across the Vault.

"Come with me!" the Doctor was yelling, to my utmost shock, "I promise, I can save you!" _What was he **doing**? The thing was **evil**__! Let him live, and it would all have been for nothing!_

Davros laughed bitterly, and I strained my ears to hear him - "Never forget, Doctor - _you _did this! I name you, forever; _you _are the Destroyer of Worlds!" He screamed as the fire engulfed him, and the Doctor coughed and spluttered as the smoke wafted towards us.

"One will still die!" the Dalek at the back sang out with a cold laughter, and my mind raced back to the prophecy, and to Jenny. The Doctor turned his back on the Vault and burst back into the TARDIS, pushing past me without a word. I turned and saw Jenny, lying on the ground in the corner, out of harms way. She was completely still. My mouth ran dry and I ran over to her, placing a hand over her chest to feel a heartbeat that wasn't there.

"No..." I whispered in terror.

"Off we go!" The Doctor was saying, working at the controls to get the TARDIS moving. His voice was like an echo as I stared blankly at Jenny.

"She can't be..."

_'One must to die',_ the prophecy had spoken. But not her... _Please, not her..._

Did I believe in fate? Maybe; maybe not. But the prophecy was complete. The Daleks would die, at long, long, last, and the darkness would be defeated. But at what price?

_It was the only way_, I told myself, over and over,_ It's not like they don't deserve it, anyway. Let them live and they'll conquer the universe. It was the only way to stop them._

_It was the only way..._

_

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_

A/N: O_O


	88. The Final Farewell

**Disclaimer: And even if I was happy, and I was skipping, I'd still hear "Not-not mine! Not-not mine!"**

A/N: Crap, time sure flies in exam season. But I was determined to update before July, and I have. Just.

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**The Final Farewell**

We took off at once, and the TARDIS shuddered as we dematerialised from the Dalek ship, just in time.

"But what about the Earth?" Sarah Jane was asking the Doctor, her voice an echo of reality in the back of my mind, "It's stuck in the wrong part of space!"

"I'm on it," the Doctor replied, moving around the console as he navigated the TARDIS, "Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?" he asked into a speaker on the screen.

"Loud and clear!" Gwen's voice sounded in the ship, and I felt my heart lift - _Ianto must be fine too!_ "Is Jack there?"

"Can't get rid of him," grinned the Doctor. And so it continued, the great TARDIS adventure. Torchwood, K-9, Mr Smith and the TARDIS Team - all fighting to tow the Earth back home.

And Jenny lay motionless on the floor.

At some point - sometime after the master plan was explained, and sometime before we saved the world, _again_ - the Doctor's hand found my shoulder.

"It's my fault," I whispered, because it was. That was the truth of it. My plan, my stupid idea, and my fault. There was no one else to blame.

"She might be okay, y'know," the Doctor said, sitting down beside me. He was using his trying-to-sound-strong-but-really-I'm-terrified voice. I knew it far too well. "She survived last time... What's to say -"

"And what if she doesn't?" I said; not quite a question. No answer. I didn't want one - I think I just didn't want to hear the excuses. His arm wrapped around me, but we were never like this - never so close. It was all getting into trouble and running for our lives, and going to Rose for the parental support. He seemed to sense the discomfort, and left just as quickly.

Rose took his place. "The Doctor - he said she was his daughter, kind of," she ventured. I hoped to God he had explained the whole story, because I didn't much fancy going through it all with her. "I'm sorry, Alli."

I nodded, "Me too."

"Still, it's good to be back." She made a vague attempt at a grin. "I missed you. Both of you, so much. An' I'm never lettin' you go again, I promise."

I smiled humourlessly, "I'm grounded then, am I?" I asked.

Rose let out a light laugh, "What, from Torchwood? We'll see..."

I was still sat at Jenny's side as the Earth was 'towed' back home by the TARDIS, and when the TARDIS was released by the Rift. With a whoop of joy from Mickey, the room erupted into laughter and cheers, with everyone bounding about, hugging and being hugged, rejoicing in the bliss of being alive.

Before I knew it, the world was back to normal. Martha was chatting with Sarah Jane, and Donna was flirting with Jack, and the Doctor was hugging Rose, and Jack was flirting with _everybody_, of course. Sarah Jane asked to be dropped back at home - she needed to get back to Luke - and so we set off, once again.

Amidst the goodbyes, I sat at Jenny's side, fidgeting restlessly and tapping my fingers on the metal grating beneath me. _Come on, Jenny..._ I willed her to wake up just like she had done that time on Messaline. I brushed my hands over my face in agitation, wiping across my eyes and focusing on Jenny. With no word of warning, she let out a cough - the lightest of sounds that I would have missed, had I not been watching her. I yelped, taken by surprise, and grabbed her hand. She lay there, still, but there was no denying what I had just seen.

"Jenny?" I called down to her, hearing footsteps behind me. Jenny didn't respond; I felt her wrist for a pulse... it was there, almost too gentle to feel, but she was definitely coming back.

"Doctor!" I heard Jack yelling, rushing to open the door, where the Doctor had been saying goodbye to Sarah.

My heart was racing - was she really waking up? "Jenny?" I said again, holding my hands to her head as she wriggled ever so gently. I felt my insides squirm; _she's coming back!_

And suddenly, the Doctor was in my place, with his fingers on her forehead, and everyone was gathered around, just waiting.

The moment seemed to last a lifetime, but then she let out a gasp, and choked on her breath, and the Doctor was laughing - and my heart felt instantly lighter. My hand leapt to my mouth in blissful disbelief, and I heard myself laughing as I watched Jenny coughing on the floor.

"Someone get her some water," the Doctor shouted, supporting Jenny as she tried to sit up. I stood up immediately, but Jack was already out of the room, so I launched myself at Rose instead, still giggling madly.

The Doctor enveloped his second daughter in a hug as she started to catch her breath back. Jack rushed in a second later with a half full glass of water - I can only assume he spilled the rest on the way back. Jenny took it thankfully and drank. The world appeared to be fading into blurs as laughter and cheers erupted around her and the Doctor, but Jenny was far from excited.

"What happened?" she spluttered, looking up at me, as soon as the glass left her lips, "With the Daleks, what happened? Did we do it?"

I nodded, beaming ecstatically as I parted from Rose and knelt down at her side. "We beat them," I grinned shamelessly, the defeat seeming ever more impressive now that Jenny was okay, "We did it!"

Donna whooped in the background, and Jenny's face - admittedly still rather pale - lit up immediately.

"How're you feeling?" the Doctor asked Jenny, still holding her up as she was pulled back to reality.

She didn't answer for a moment, shaking her head, then grinned, "Fantastic."

_-itwillnotletmeputaspacehere-_

"So, what're you gonna do now, then?" Jenny asked me a few minutes later, as Martha got ready to leave for UNIT and everyone said their goodbyes. We were sat in the captain's chair, Jenny with a blanket wrapped around her and a lukewarm cup of tea.

I shrugged. The question had been plaguing my mind for hours now - should I go back to Torchwood, or stay with Rose and the Doctor? Now that Rose was back, I didn't want to leave again, but... well, I suppose I had made my peace with the idea that she was gone - maybe I really had left home. And of course, it all depended on where Donna and Jenny were heading. If three's a crowd, I hated to think what five would be... And could I really leave Torchwood - and Jack and Ianto?

"I think I might leave," she said, unperturbed by my silence.

I looked across at her in surprise, "Really?"

She nodded, "Yeah... 'bout time I got out there, don't you think?" I swallowed, wordless, and she continued, "I was born a soldier; I don't really need the whole _family_ thing. And it's great here, with Donna, and dad, but - I want to get out there myself, have my own adventures, you know?"

I nodded non-committally, "I guess."

Jack appeared in front of me, "You coming?"

I froze for a moment, taken by surprise at the question, and still having no answer. "I -" I cut off, and looked across at where Rose was stood with Mickey. That was my mother... I finally had her back. I couldn't just leave her, could I? But could I leave Jack, or Ianto, either? And the thought of them, my mind brought back every time I'd seen them together, and every time Jack had broken my heart. Could I really go back to _that_? I swallowed hard and gritted my teeth. _No more._

"I'm staying," I said firmly, looking back up at Jack, "I'm going to stay."

Jack's eyebrows shot up, but after a moment, he seemed to understand. "Of course. Well, drop back whenever you like," he said, holding out his arms. I threw myself at him in one last hug, sure I was doing the right thing, at last.

"Say goodbye to Ianto and Tosh for me," I said as we parted.

"Oh, I will," he replied, giving a devillish grin. I grimaced, but before I could respond, he was bounding towards Rose to say goodbye.

I let out a breath, my head suddenly much clearer. I would stay here, in the TARDIS, with Rose and the Doctor, and Donna, if she was staying. Jack could wait - it wasn't as if he'd run out of time - and Ianto would be fine, I was certain, if they were together.

Time to go home.

Someone else stepped in front of me, and I looked up to see Mickey Smith stood there. "So, you're Alli," he said.

"And you're Mickey," I smiled, "Mickey Smith. From the Parallel Universe." He grinned. "Mickey the Idiot."

His face fell into a scowl. "Did the Doc tell you to say that?"

I laughed, "No, but I'm glad I did." I made a mental note to call the Doctor "Doc" one day, just for the hell of it. Back in reality, though, the awkwardness was beginning to set in already. How could this man seem like such a stranger to me, when I'd heard stories about him all of my life?

"I'm leaving now," he said, nodding, "Gonna go back to my old universe. Just thought I should come an'... say hello, I guess."

I nodded, unsure of what to say. "Right. Good."

"They did a good job raising you, I can tell. Not bad work back with the Daleks." He raised his fist in a 'respect' motion. "Nice work, kid."

I hit my own fist against his, smiling stupidly, and he left, just like that.

"Oh, well that wasn't awkward at all, then," Jenny snorted, as Mickey made his way over to Rose. I laughed back, and we watched as he walked out to join Martha and Jack. A few moments later, the Doctor re-entered, grinning, and bounded towards the controls.

"So," he smiled, "I guess it's just us!"

He glanced around. Rose was leaning on the console, beaming; Donna was stood on the Doctor's other side; Jenny and I were still sat on the captain's chair. I felt Jenny wriggle uneasily at my side, shrug off the blanket, and stand up.

"Doctor?" she began, "You said I was pretty much okay now, yeah?"

"Yeah, 'course!" the Doctor replied happily, "Hearts back to normal, no lasting damage. Not sure about the whole regeneration thing, but I suppose only time will tell. Seems to me like you're another Jack, though."

"Well, I was thinking," she ventured, stepping forward again, "About time I left?" The Doctor's face fell. "Not forever - probably - but, y'know, time to get out there and do my own thing?" she amended.

He looked across at me, them back to Jenny, "Yes! Yes... I suppose you're right. No reason why you shouldn't."

"In fact, I was wondering if you could drop me back off on Messaline?" she ventured, fluttering her eyelashes a little. I tried to restrain my laughter at the obvious act. "We saw those spaceships there, remember?" she continued, "And, well, I was thinking about what Cline would be doing, now that the war's over."

The Doctor smiled, the light not quite reaching his eyes. "Of course," he said, adjusting the controls, "Messaline it is."

"Well - maybe, maybe not quite yet," Jenny cut in abruptly, biting her lip, "Maybe one last trip?" She grinned, and the Doctor smiled back.

"Where to, then?" Rose asked, beaming as she took hold of the Doctor's hand. His eyes lit up and he dashed around the console, pushing levers and buttons and switches, Rose's hand still clasped tight in his.

"How about Sumi-tencha?" he shouted across the roar of the engine, "Lovely little planet; beaches and palm trees - well almost - and ice-cream! Well, sort of ice-cream. Well, not really ice-cream. Well... cheese. But it_can _taste like ice-cream sometimes - depending on the shop... and the hygiene."

"_Right_," laughed Rose sceptically, "Nice 'relaxing' holiday, then?"

"Absolutely!" grinned the Doctor, "Peace and quiet! Molto bene!"

I couldn't help but beam back, as I glanced around at them all. The Doctor and Rose, hands still clasped, laughing raucously; Donna, supporting herself in the coral as she chuckled at the Doctor; Jenny, giggling at my side as the TARDIS gave a shake and her cold tea flew over the floor.

_'Peace and quiet.'_

_Yeah, right._

The TARDIS landed with a crash, and Rose let out a squeal as she fell to the floor. Donna stumbled across to the door, still laughing, and the Doctor pulled Rose up and dragged her behind him. Jenny hopped off the captain's chair and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the door.

"C'mon!" she grinned impatiently as we ran, "A _proper_ holiday, at last!"

She wrenched open the door, and there stood the Doctor, Rose and Donna. In front of us, the sky was black with smoke. Debris covered the floor as far as I could see out, small fires lit up the horizon, and alarms and sirens sounded everywhere, piercing my ears. The Doctor dropped Rose's hand and stepped forward. A few metres ahead, the ground dropped into nothingness. A black pit, easily twenty metres in diameter, lay before us.

"Maybe... just... a little look around?" the Doctor suggested wryly, turning to face us and tugging on his ear. Rose put her hands on her hips. His lips turned up into a smile. She sighed. He laughed.

I couldn't stop my laughter at Jenny's aghast expression.

_This is gonna be one hell of a holiday._

**END.**

* * *

A/N: STAY WITH ME IT'S NOT OVER YET DON'T UNSUBSCRIBE.

One more chapter.

Maybe two.

((Also, how awesome was the finale?))


	89. Unexpected

**Disclaimer: Alas, that's not what I spent the last God-knows-how-many-months doing. Unfortunately.**

A/N: Yo. I'm like, alive. What are the chances? I have no excuses, and I won't bore you with the pathetic 'reasons'. This epilogue comes in two parts, and I hope it's marginally worth the wait.

* * *

**Unexpected**

"Here we are!" the Doctor yelled over the thrumming of the TARDIS, landing us with a crash and bounding outside before I could so much as pick myself off the floor. I pulled myself onto my feet and helped Rose up - she might not have looked a day over 35, but the past 10 years certainly hadn't _improved _her joints. The Doctor, on the other hand, was just as active as ever and with a new (ridiculously young, I could add) regeneration to boot, and seemed to have adopted the motto of 'If you can stand, you can run'.

I threw the TARIDS doors open and ran out, grinning in anticipation of the next adventure. My face fell slightly, however, when I was met with the view of a rather grey, rather windy, Cardiff Bay.

"Oh."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" the Doctor yelled from beside me, with a look of such delight that I was stunned into silence. He considered my grimace. "Or not."

"Is it really my birthday?" was all I could think to say.

"Well, no," the Doctor admitted sheepishly, "But hey, it could be!"

Rose laughed as she joined us outside, looking up at the water tower and putting an arm around my neck. "We thought you might wanna visit the Captain. Been a while, after all."

I smiled, "Yeah, I guess it has. ... Plus, the TARDIS needs recharging," I added, raising my eyebrows at Rose.

"Well... yeah, that too," she breezed, slipping her arm though mine and leading me towards the Hub. "Come on, let's just go find Jack."

My stomach gave a squirm - whether out of anxiousness or excitement, I couldn't tell. It had been somewhere around 10 years (in relative "space" time) since the TARDIS Team had flown planet Earth back home. In that time, Rose had managed to start looking more like my sister than my mother; the Doctor had managed to change his face _again_ (and incidentally, could now probably pass for my brother); Donna was into her forties, and beginning to have trouble keeping up with the Doctor's latest regeneration; Torchwood Cardiff had fallen, and picked itself up again; the Daleks had continued to fail to die; and I, Allindrassonatela Tyler, half-human, half-Gallifreyan, was 28 years old and still ginger.

Nothing much had changed, however, in the way of travelling. Rose, the Doctor, Donna and I had been flying through the universe just the same as always, although we had begun to spend months at a time on one planet or one constellation - the closest to 'settling down' we were likely to get. It had been over a year since we last visited Earth - upon which we had found a heartbroken Jack, no Ianto, and a heavily pregnant Gwen, with the Earth under a certain impending doom. Eventually, after a few days of high tension and unbearable stress, the situation was resolved, and all that was left was to mourn the loss of Ianto Jones, Defender of the Earth.

He had died nobly; that much, I knew. Not that this was any reassurance to myself or one Captain Harkness, obviously. But he was gone. Ianto Jones was no more, and... and how could the world be okay with that? But, after a number of weeks, having settled the Object of said Impending Doom and made some progress in the area of cheering up Jack, we waited around for Gwen to recover, then made our exit - only, of course, after leaving a few _subtle _hints about a certain couple of freelancers by the names of Martha and Mickey Smith.

A few months of Earth-time later - and a decade to the TARDIS Team - and there we stood again, outside the Hub, with the Welsh wind blowing a gale and the grey skies threatening a downpour. I wasted no time in rushing towards the tourist office, with a slight pang in my chest as I realised it would no longer be Ianto behind the desk. What I _didn't_ expect, however, was to come face to face with my one and only sister-from-a-machine. There, before me, stood _Jenny_.

I stopped in my tracks, shocked to see her leaning over the counter, grinning. She seemed unperturbed by our presence - I noted the security camera footage rolling on a screen by the counter - and merely glanced up as the door swung shut behind Rose and the Doctor.

"You changed again!" she said, her attention caught by the Doctor's new face, "And God, you look old, Alli."

"But... what're you doing here?" I squealed, unable to contain my surprise.

"I _know_, I'm always stuck in this stupid shop; when Jack said 'government liaisons', I was hoping for something a little more exciting."

After the initial greetings and welcomes, Jenny explained. She had been recruited to the Torchwood team after Gwen had returned from maternity leave, as a result of her crash-landing her ship in Cheltenham and being teleported into Torchwood for her own safety. She took over the role of 'Government Liaisons' while Jack attempted to repair her ship. But, to her dismay, the job itself involved a lot less chasing up the government than she had anticipated, and a lot more secretarial work.

Our 'subtle' hints for Jack to contact Martha and Mickey, incidentally, had worked like a charm. After a brief reunion with Jenny, she led us through the to main Hub, where the happy couple in question were mid-laughter about some secret joke, while Jack watched, grinning, from the balcony. The place had been completely renovated since we last visited, when it was in the process of being rebuilt after an explosion. It was no longer the dingy, underground grotto - 'grotty' being a key word there - but a sleek, shiny den. Toshiko was stood behind a six-foot-high wall of monitors. The staircase led not only to Jack's office, but to a corridor of what appeared to be bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and cupboards. A large white sign hung on the far wall, over a set of metal double-doors, and was printed with the words "MEDICAL WING".

I presumed some government money-wrangling had taken place; courtesy of the Captain, of course.

The Doctor bounded into the main Hub, mad with excitement, with me and Rose trailing just behind Jenny. I felt a slight flutter in my chest as the thought landed and I realised who was on the other side of the new, un-rusted cog door.

After overcoming the new team's initial shock of seeing us - the Doctor's new face, especially - things began to settle back down to what I had come to know as normal. Mickey and Martha had been married for almost 6 months, and were now fighting alien invasion on behalf of Torchwood. I could see the sense in it immediately. Torchwood had lost a doctor in the death of Owen, and here was the perfect woman for the job. And I guessed it didn't hurt Tosh to be able to unload some of her work onto Mickey. Both of them, of course, were also working in the field, and Jenny had (albeit inadvertently) taken on Ianto's job as secretary. Gwen, it turns out, wasn't seen much of nowadays, as she spent the majority of her time looking after 'Rhys Jr'; but when she did make an appearance that afternoon, it became evident that her position was still held in public relations. And firearms.

A rather untypically quiet day was spent at the Hub, with very few alien disturbances, and only one or two small spikes in the Rift that needing attending to. I accompanied Jenny when she was sent to buy teas and coffee from the café, after some unspoken issue with the coffee machine. Tea was a concept Jenny was yet to either understand or master, I gathered - much to Jack's dismay. As we walked, she explained with excitement where her travels after Messaline had taken her. She had picked up Cline - the boy we had met there - and travelled to just about every planet in that solar system, from what I could tell as she bobbed back and forth into my view, telling stories with her whole body almost comically animated. After Cline had returned home - there was an incident she carefully avoided telling me - she went for the big one. She found a commercial shuttle and got the co-ordinates to Earth, and after three months, and almost running out of fuel, she managed to get back to England in 2010. How she managed it was beyond me. She hinted at hitch-hiking with more experienced fliers, but seemed to gloss over the details. After she had explained her arrival in Cardiff, and her integration into the new Torchwood Cardiff, she stopped and turned to me in question.

I gave her what I could in overview of the past ten years, but really, it was a blur of excitement and adrenaline. I found myself clutching at dim memories and frowning at false events - the line between my imagination and reality was fading.

"Must be nice to come back to normality, I'll bet," she grinned, and I couldn't quite tell if she was joking.

"Yeah, something like that," I sighed.

There was a short but comfortable silence as we walked back, with Jenny balancing a cardboard tray of coffee cups, and me carrying the other, along with a box of muffins. Suddenly, she turned to look at me, hesitated, and looked away again.

"What?" I asked, curious.

"I was - well, see I was just wondering..." She wet her lips with her tongue, then continued, "What happened with you and Jack?" I felt an inward squirm in my stomach. "You never did say."

I bit the corner of my lip, "Uh, it's a really long story," I dismissed it.

"Is there a short version?" she asked, adamant. She stared me down, hard, and I looked forward again with a sigh.

"We were engaged," I said finally, "A _long_ time ago. Now... we're not."

Jenny's eyes were wide. "_Engaged_?" she repeated in disbelief.

"We were young, mind you," I cut in before she could continue, "Not to mention stupid. Then... some _stuff _happened, and I didn't see him for... well, a while. Then I found him again. At Torchwood. Old. And _immortal_." I chanced a sideways smirk at her, "Why, is there something going on between my little sister and -" Jenny flushed. My smile dropped with the sentence. "You're kidding me."

She looked away. I gaped, half wanting to laugh, half wanting to scream.

"Oh my _God_, you and _Jack_!" I squealed, and she shushed me frantically, looking nervous.

"I'm sorry Alli - I didn't realise!" she cringed, "Nothing's happened, I swear!"

I stopped still on the pavement, alarmed, "Wait, what?"

She hesitated and turned back to look at me, "Well... I won't _do _anything... y'know, since he's your ex and that. God, you two could have been _married_..."

I shook away the thought and laughed lightly, "Jenny, that was years ago. Centuries, for him. If you wanna go for it... hell, you go for it. Just be warned, he's not all hugs and butterflies."

Her eyes lit up instantly, and she bounded across to wrap me in a hug. I staggered back, taken by surprise, eyeing the precariously tilting coffee cups. We separated and continued the walk back to the Hub. I tried to search in my mind for a reaction - _Jenny dating _Jack_?_ I asked myself - but I couldn't find a single slice of resentment, or anger, or even sadness. It was gone. In all those years away, with Rose, and the Doctor, and Donna - I hadn't even realised, but... I was _over_ him.

_And besides_, I told myself, _What could be better? Jenny - from what evidence we had - seemed to show all the signs of being immortal. With anyone else, Jack would always spend his life waiting for his lover to die. Hell, even _I_ had a limited number of regenerations. But maybe this was _right_. Maybe this was how it was meant to be..._

**- s p a c e s p a c e s p a c e -**_  
_

Upon our arrival back at the Hub, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Something had come up with the Rift, and so Rose and Donna were sat to the side, watching the team working, while the Doctor hovered around Toshiko and Mickey, staring in wonder at her computer systems like a child watching cartoons. The team was working in perfect harmony. They were working on some new program of Toshiko's, I guessed from the language being thrown about the place. For a moment, I felt a pang in my stomach. Did I miss this - being in the team? This sense of belonging, and foundation, and home? Yes. Of course I did.

I glanced across to Rose and Donna, chatting quietly about something with wide smiles, and to the Doctor, bouncing around behind Toshiko to peer over her shoulder at the program she was modifying - and I just smiled. I shook my head clear of the past, and bounded over to Rose and Donna with the muffins. Jenny followed with the coffees, and we both took up seats at the long metal table.

"Donna an' me were just thinking," Rose started casually, helping herself to a blueberry muffin as she spoke, "We should stay in Cardiff for a bit. Y'know, just hang around, see what Earth's up to." She glanced across at Donna, who swallowed a bite of her chocolate muffin and nodded.

"Yeah, it'd be nice, don't you think?" she smiled.

I shrugged, "Yeah, sounds good. What d'you think Jen; can you put up with us for a week or two?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll handle it," she sighed in mock-depravity, "Though I think Tosh might just punch dad if he doesn't settle down soon." She grinned and nodded over to where Toshiko was silently fuming, grinding her teeth together as the Doctor went about pulling the monitors around to face him and tapping insanely on the keyboards. Each time she pulled his hands away from the keys, he would dance around her to a different computer and behind the process again. I snorted as I held in laughter.

As I turned back to Donna and Rose, a glimpse of action flew across my eyes. Rose was drawing her hand back to her own side of the table, and Donna was pulling her hand away too. She swallowed and smiled, her eyes not quite in it. Rose glanced between us awkwardly. I frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Donna said with a laugh, and glanced over to the Doctor. "Still, he looks like he's having fun."

I glanced to Rose, but she gave the smallest shake of her head. I wasn't to ask. I nodded shortly and turned back to watch Torchwood at work. Tosh swore loudly as the Doctor finished typing a sequence of numbers into the main computer keyboard. I grinned as he looked up and cast a short, gleeful beam towards us.

**- s p a c e s p a c e s p a c e -**

"So, how's married life treating you?" I asked Martha with a grin, when she joined us some time later.

She beamed and presented her ring with excitement for us to gush over, "Oh, it's amazing. Rose, I don't know how you could let him go -" she paused, caught the Doctor in her line of sight, and hesitated. "Well, yeah... I guess I do. But really, I've _never _been so happy with someone before. I mean - not even with the Doctor."

"Well, we're all happy for you, love," Donna smiled, examining the ring with interest. "Crikey, I'd better get a move on, or I'll be the only single one left!"

"Hey, you've gotta outlast me if you want that trophy," I grinned, mock-glaring at her across the table.

"We've got this great little flat," Martha was saying now, "It looks right over the Bay..."

Rose and I exchanged a small smirk as she spoke, her voice rising excitedly with each sentence, and I pulled the tray of teas towards me. _We've been out of the loop for a whole year here_, I thought to myself with a bracing sigh, _This could take a while..._

**- s p a c e s p a c e s p a c e -**

We spent the next week - or perhaps longer, since I was still having trouble keeping track of Earth days and weeks - hanging around Torchwood and seeing the sights. It wasn't that we hadn't seen them all before, but there was something different about them, when we'd just spent ten years on planets and shuttles of every size, system, climate and colour. And to our dismay, things had taken a turn for the busier back at the Hub, and we were eventually booted out by Toshiko, after the Doctor accidentally freeze-locked her system into shutdown. With the task of entertaining him on all our minds - including Jenny, who was tagging along for the ride - we set about trying to find adventure.

As it turns out, Cardiff is not so exciting when there's not an alien plot to take over the world.

"I'd forgotten how quiet it gets down here," I had mused to Jenny as we walked along the beach for the umpteenth time, and cast a look behind us at Donna, Rose and the Doctor. They walked a few yards behind us, engrossed in conversation.

"Quiet?" Jenny frowned, "There's a different invasion every other day!"

"Yeah... but it's not the same, is it?" I posed to her, "I mean - you've travelled with the Doctor. You know what it's like. I just... I didn't realise I had missed the travelling so much, when I was at Torchwood."

Jenny shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so," she agreed half-heartedly, "I mean, it was magical. But I like this. Torchwood. A home."

"More than the travelling?"

She considered. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I do. It's not as exciting, but... I don't know. I have a job at Torchwood - even if most of it involves the word _'paperwork'_. But I know what I'm getting here: I fight crime, I find aliens, I save the world. What can I say? You're a born traveller. I'm a born soldier."

I grinned, impressed - and perhaps a little bit flattered. She was right, of course. My place was up in the stars, just as her place was in the middle of the fight. "Yeah, I guess we are."

**- s p a c e s p a c e s p a c e -**

"Hey, I was thinking," I posed to the Doctor and Rose, later that afternoon, as the five of us lounged in the kitchen inside the TARDIS, "Could we go visit Sarah Jane, too? We haven't seen her since last year either. I wanna know how Luke's getting on at uni."

"Absolutely, good idea," the Doctor replied from the fridge, giving me two thumbs up, then casting a glance to Donna. "We'll be heading off soon, anyway." He turned back towards the fridge, where he was rifling through its contents furiously. Rose bit her lip and looked to Donna, and in turn, Donna looked first to Rose, then to me.

"Guys, what's going on?" I asked, confused. "Why do you all keep _looking_ at each other like that?"

"Alli... oh, well, I wasn't gonna say anything yet, but I guess now's a good a time as any," Donna sighed, pulling a chair up at the table and sitting beside me. She took a deep breath and hesitated. "I'm gonna get goin' after we leave Cardiff."

My frown fell away, first into surprise, then blankness. I paused. "Oh," was all I could think to say.

"It's just that, well, I'm gettin' on a bit," she smiled sadly, attempting to laugh it off, "An' I think it's... it's just time."

"Yeah - no, I know," I nodded, smiling unconvincingly, "I understand." I looked past her into the kitchen, where Rose and the Doctor were frozen by the fridge, looking over at us with solemn expressions. The Doctor coughed and stood up straight, feigning obliviousness. Rose walked over and took a seat by Donna, a sympathetic arm around her shoulder.

"We'll visit, though," she assured her, "Promise."

She snorted in response, "Yeah, just try not to bring any more stowaway aliens back with you, yeah? I don't think my gramps can handle another visit like that."

"One time, that was _one time_," the Doctor replied defensively as he sat beside Rose, licking banana-chocolate cookie dough off his fingers out of a huge bowl in front of him.

"Yeah, and let's keep it that way," Donna grinned. "Oh, I'm gonna miss you guys," she sighed sadly.

"We'll miss you, too," I replied, placing a hand over hers on the table top. She smiled, and let out another sigh.

"So, last few days as the TARDIS Team!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Yeah, that is _so_ not catching on," I raised one eyebrow at him. He ignored me and jumped to his feet.

"What d'you want to do, Miss Noble? The universe is yours. All of them, in fact."

"I think... I just want to stay here," Donna said carefully, "Just for one more day."

The Doctor's face fell. "Really? No... adventure? No... one last trip?"

Donna smiled, "Honestly, Doctor? I think I've had enough 'last trips' for a lifetime."

He smiled back sadly, and nodded. "Okay. A day in Cardiff. One last day. What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

A/N: Part Two - coming soon. (Which, by my standards, could be either tomorrow or 2012. Hopefully the former.)

**IN PART TWO:  
**_"Of course there's a spaceship hovering over Cardiff," I deadpanned, looking up -_ **OKAY ****SEE YOU NEXT TIME.**


End file.
